Senator Rodante Marcoleta could be held liable for indirect bribery over his undeclared campaign funds in last year’s senatorial elections.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson pointed this out Tuesday, March 10, highlighting the latter’s attempts to explain his failure to disclose his campaign contributors in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).

Lacson said this smacks of admission against interest, noting that while Marcoleta and his legal team claimed he received donations before he became a candidate, he was still a public official at that time—a representative of SAGIP party-list in the House.

Marcoleta served as SAGIP party list representative from 2016 to 2025.

"I guess Senator Marcoleta and his legal team thought they were being smart by being technical about when these contributions were made,” Lacson said in his privilege speech.

“Pero ang nakakatawa Mr. President ay, wala nang mas lilinaw sa sariling pag-amin ni Senator Marcoleta - tumanggap siya ng pera para magkaroon siya ng utang na loob sa mga taong iyon - isang maliwanag na Admission against Interest, ang sabi nga ng mga abogado (I guess Marcoleta and his legal team thought they were being smart by being technical about when these contributions were made. But the funny thing is that he admitted receiving contributions so he would have a debt of gratitude to the contributors. This is a clear admission against interest, as lawyers say),” he pointed out.

As a lawyer, Lacson said Marcoleta should know he is liable for indirect bribery under Art. 211 of the Revised Penal Code precisely because he was a member of the House of Representatives at the time. 

“The law is clear that it is a crime for public officials to receive money or gifts by reason of their office even without promises of a particular act or omission to the giver,” he added.

Under Article 211 of the Revised Penal Code any public officer who accepts gifts offered by reason of their office is punishable, and carries penalties of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, suspension, and public censure.

Lacson noted that when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued a show cause order against Marcoleta, the latter tried to backtrack on his earlier arguments by saying that he received those contributions when he was not yet a candidate as defined by the decision of the Supreme Court.

“Bakit nga ba hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin inilalabas ng Comelec ang resolution ng SOCE case ni Senator Marcoleta (Why has the Comelec not issued a resolution on Marcoleta's SOCE case up to now)?” he asked.