ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Defensor, 2 businessmen plead not guilty in plunder case

Defensor, 2 businessmen plead not guilty in plunder case

Published Jul 15, 2026 12:32 pm

At A Glance

  • The plunder case stems from allegations that Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray donated ₱75 million to Marcoleta, which prosecutors claim forms part of the basis for the non-bailable charge against the senator.
Former lawmaker Mike Defensor arrives at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Wednesday, July 15, ahead of his arraignment on a plunder charge as a co-accused of Senator Rodante Marcoleta. (Santi San Juan/Manila Bulletin)
Former lawmaker Mike Defensor arrives at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Wednesday, July 15, ahead of his arraignment on a plunder charge as a co-accused of Senator Rodante Marcoleta. (Santi San Juan/Manila Bulletin)
Former lawmaker Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray, who are co-accused of Senator Rodante Marcoleta in a plunder case, pleaded not guilty during their arraignment before the Sandiganbayan on Wednesday, July 15.
The arraignment in Criminal Case No. E-SB-CRM-26-0018 proceeded after the court noted that Defensor and Espiritu had withdrawn their motions to quash the information, while Viray did not file any motion questioning its validity or sufficiency.
“Considering that there is no more issue raised by accused Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray as to the validity or sufficiency of the information in the said criminal case, their arraignment for the said case proceeded,” Sandiganbayan Third Division chairperson Associate Justice Karl Miranda said.
Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray each entered a plea of not guilty.
The court directed both the prosecution and the defense to pre-mark their respective exhibits on July 28, 29, and 30 at 2 p.m. and encouraged the parties to enter into a joint stipulation of facts before the pre-trial, which was scheduled for Aug. 10 at 8:30 a.m.
Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan set the arraignment for Criminal Case No. E-SB-CRM-26-0020 on July 22 at 8:30 a.m.
The case is separate from the plunder charge and involves an alleged violation of Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts.
Marcoleta has yet to be arraigned in the plunder case because of his pending motion to quash the information seeking its dismissal.
The plunder case stems from allegations that Defensor, Espiritu, and Viray donated ₱75 million to Marcoleta, which prosecutors claim forms part of the basis for the non-bailable charge against the senator.

Related Tags

RODANTE MARCOLETA SANDIGANBAYAN ARRAIGNMENT PLUNDER MIKE DEFENSOR
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.