Manila: Senator Rodante Marcoleta announced on Thursday that he will not request a temporary release from the Sandiganbayan to participate in the vote on whether to amend the 16-vote requirement for conviction in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial.
According to Philippines News Agency, Marcoleta made this statement during a press briefing following his bail hearing related to a plunder indictment at the Sandiganbayan. He emphasized that the 16-vote threshold for conviction is enshrined in the Constitution, stating, "Nobody has a right to change the Constitution."
Marcoleta is currently facing charges of plunder for allegedly receiving PHP75 million in contributions for his Senate campaign ahead of the 2025 midterm elections. During the anti-graft court proceedings, a witness testified that Marcoleta solicited donations from businessman Aristotle Viray. Field Investigation Bureau Director Maria Melinda Mananghaya-Henson, from the Office of the Ombudsman, confirmed to Sandiganbayan 3rd Division Chairperson Karl Miranda that it was indeed Marcoleta who solicited the donation from Viray.
Before his Senate run, Marcoleta was a member of the House of Representatives. He is co-accused in this plunder case alongside Viray, former Anakalusugan party-list Representative Michael Defensor, and businessman Joseph Espiritu.
