Comelec facing 'complications' in Marcoleta's case — Garcia

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it is facing “complications” in resolving the case involving Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s May 2025 statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE) after the Office of the Ombudsman referred a related complaint on the same issue.

Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) had already prepared a recommendation on Marcoleta’s case.

However, the Ombudsman referred a related complaint to Comelec, questioning both the lawmaker’s SOCE and statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN).

“Dapat maglalabas na kami, kaya lang biglang na-complicate kasi Ombudsman na mismo ang nag-refer sa amin ng mismong complaint na yun,” Garcia told reporters.

(The PFAD was supposed to issue the recommendation, but it became complicated after the Ombudsman referred the complaint to us.)

“Parehas ang kaso, parehas ang akusasyon, parehas ang alegasyon,” he added.

(The case, accusations, and allegations are all the same.)

Based on Marcoleta's SOCE, he spent P139.9 million on his campaign for the senatorial elections in 2025—far above his declared SALN of P51,965,559. He declared zero donations.

Garcia said the matter has now been referred to the Comelec Law Department, and the elections body is discussing how to handle the overlap.

“Ang katanungan ngayon, paano maco-complicate ang recommendation ng PFAD versus sa [nai-file] na formal complaint sa Law Department…’Yun bang findings ng PFAD ay makaka-influence sa disposition ng Law Department?

(The question now is how PFAD’s recommendation will be affected by the formal complaint filed with the Law Department.)

"At the same time, ‘yung disposition ng Law Department dapat bang maging basehan ng PFAD?” he said.

"Should PFAD’s findings influence the Law Department’s disposition, or should PFAD base its findings on the Law Department’s decision?)

“Hindi pwedeng balewalain ang bawat isa sapagkat may karapatan sa due process ang personalidad na ito,” Garcia added.

(We cannot overlook any part of this because the individual has the right to due process.)

Last month, Comelec said it had completed its investigation into Marcoleta’s case and that PFAD would issue a resolution.

This comes months after Comelec, in November 2025, issued a show cause order (SCO) against Marcoleta, directing him to explain public remarks that he did not fully disclose his campaign donors in his SOCE for the May 2025 midterm elections.

The SCO also questioned the discrepancy between his SOCE and SALN.

Garcia said the poll body is aware of Senator Panfilo Lacson’s privilege speech alleging that Marcoleta may be liable for indirect bribery for not disclosing election donors in his SOCEs.

The Comelec en banc has begun discussing the issue, according to Garcia.

“We have to come up immediately with a disposition sapagkat alam namin ang interes ng taumbayan dito sa issue (because we are aware that this is of public interest),” he said.

Marcoleta previously admitted that he did not declare the contributions he received for the May 2025 elections in his SOCE, as his donors supposedly requested anonymity. —MCG, GMA Integrated News