ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ex-congressman Defensor says arrest meant to silence him on corruption issues

Ex-congressman Defensor says arrest meant to silence him on corruption issues

Published Jul 6, 2026 11:21 am

At A Glance

  • Former congressman Mike Defensor claimed his arrest on a non-bailable plunder charge was meant to silence him from speaking out against alleged government corruption.
  • The Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Defensor, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, and two businessmen after finding probable cause in a plunder case involving Marcoleta's alleged nondisclosure of P75 million in campaign donations.
  • Defensor maintained the case has no basis and vowed to continue fighting despite his detention.
Former congressman Mike Defensor (Courtesy: Defensor/Facebook)
Former congressman Mike Defensor (Courtesy: Defensor/Facebook)
Former congressman Mike Defensor said Monday, July 6, that his arrest on a non-bailable plunder charge was intended to stop him from speaking out against alleged corruption in the government, just as the Sandiganbayan ordered his detention alongside Senator Rodante Marcoleta and two businessmen.
In a video message released after the Sandiganbayan Third Division denied their motion to quash the case and stop the issuance of warrants of arrest, Defensor maintained that the charges against him have no basis.
“We fought corruption, yet we were the first to be jailed in a case that has no basis,” he said.
The court ruled that probable cause exists to proceed with the plunder case as it ordered the arrest of Marcoleta, Defensor, businessmen Aristotle Viray and Joseph Espiritu, and denied their motions seeking to suspend the proceedings and defer the issuance of warrants.
The case stemmed from allegations that Marcoleta, then a congressman, received P75 million in campaign donations from Defensor and the two businessmen but failed to declare the amount in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
Prosecutors said the alleged nondisclosure constituted ill-gotten wealth amounting to at least P50 million, the threshold for plunder under the Anti-Plunder Act.
Defensor claimed that his detention would prevent him from exposing wrongdoing in government.
“With our imprisonment, we will no longer be able to speak about corruption because all we want is for the truth to come out. Transparency, accountability and justice,” he said.
Defensor also questioned why he was being jailed ahead of those he described as corrupt officials. “We were jailed ahead of those who truly stole from the people's coffers,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marcoleta surrendered to authorities at the Sandiganbayan after the arrest order was issued. He said he had gone to the court in good faith and had no intention of evading the legal process.
Personnel from the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) served the warrant and escorted the senator for the return of the warrant. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla and PNP chief Police Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. also arrived at the Sandiganbayan during the proceedings.
The respondents are set to be committed to the Quezon City Jail in Payatas while the case is pending.
Despite his arrest, Defensor vowed to continue his fight. “You may imprison us and silence us, but we will not give up,” he said.

Related Tags

Mike Defensor plunder Rodante Marcoleta Sandiganbayan
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.