VANCOUVER, Canada — Malacañang on Friday (Saturday in Manila) said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would not interfere in the plunder charges filed against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta by the Office of the Ombudsman, saying the executive branch respects the principle of separation of powers.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said government agencies, including investigating bodies and courts, would continue to fulfill their mandate independently despite external pressures.
"First, there is separation of powers," Castro said during a press conference in Vancouver.
"There will be no interference, no intimidation, no pressure from the executive because the executive and the president respect the decisions of the courts," she added.
The response came after concerns were raised by members of the Iglesia ni Cristo that the courts might not be impartial in handling the case against Marcoleta.
The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday morning filed before the Sandiganbayan the plunder case against Marcoleta and three of his co-accused over P75 million in campaign donations that the senator did not declare in the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.
Castro said that Marcoleta would be accorded due process and would have the chance to respond to the allegations against him before the proper forum.
She added that the legal process must be allowed to proceed without interference.
"Let us not immediately cast doubt on whatever decision the court may reach. We are not yet at that stage. The case has only been filed before the Sandiganbayan. It is not right to tarnish our courts and our justice system," she said.
Castro also said that the administration is not expecting another “surprise rally” following the filing.
"If that happens, it would be as if they were dictating to the investigating bodies and even to the executive branch how they should act based on what they want," she said.
The Palace official added that the Marcos administration would not yield to pressure from any group.
"To those planning to pressure the government, do not push it. Do not do it because the government does not sleep, nor do investigating bodies and the courts in ensuring those who should be held accountable are made accountable," Castro said.
Meanwhile, Castro called out former Anakalusugan party-list representative Mike Defensor after he pushed for an investigation into the three major campaign donors of President Marcos, who were later appointed to key government posts.
Defensor, on a Facebook post, named some campaign donors of Marcos during his presidential bid for the 2022 elections while questioning the plunder charges filed against him and Marcoleta.
Castro said there was no comparison because Marcos was a private citizen at the time and filed a complete report on the campaign donations he received for the elections.
She said that Marcoleta admitted in a television interview that he did not disclose the contributions from Defensor and businessmen Aristotle Viray and Joseph Espiritu during the 2025 midterm elections because the donors wanted to remain anonymous.
"Did he (Defensor) consider that at the time when President Marcos ran, he was a private citizen? Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s situation is different, and that time, he was a congressman," Castro said.
‘Reverse trial’
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday said prosecutors may have little difficulty presenting their case because Marcoleta had allegedly made an "admission against interest" during a televised interview by acknowledging that he received cash donations for his 2025 senatorial campaign while he was still serving as a congressman.
“The prosecutor may just sit and watch with folded arms while the respondent argues against himself and the damning evidence that he himself presented in plain view of all the witnesses who watched his 'admission against interest' on national TV," Lacson wrote on X.
In an interview on radio dzMM, Lacson also dismissed claims that the filing of charges constituted political harassment by the administration.
"Harassment is when one forcibly tries to find evidence against you. But as Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said, they did not need to find evidence because the evidence fell on their laps," he said.
Also over the weekend, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco challenged the administration to prove that its anti-corruption campaign applies to everyone and should also be impartial.
His comments come after Assistant Ombudsman Jose Dominic Clavano IV said that the Ombudsman's case against former speaker Martin Romualdez will be boosted by the testimonies of several individuals.
Among them are former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan, who could establish the circumstances surrounding the implementation of the flood control projects, as well as former bodyguards of resigned Ako Bicol Party-list representative Zaldy Co, whose statements are consistent with other evidence already gathered by investigators.
He also pointed to Romualdez as the alleged "mastermind" of the flood control controversy.
In a statement on Saturday, Tiangco said the developments leave the administration with an opportunity to demonstrate that its campaign against corruption will spare no one, including administration allies.
"If the administration truly has nothing to do with these acts of corruption, then it should be even more determined to hold accountable its allies or even relatives who allegedly exploited their close ties to the administration to steal from the Filipino people," Tiangco said.
He added that those who orchestrated and masterminded the "biggest corruption scandal in our country's history" must be held accountable.
"Above all, the money stolen from the people must be recovered," Tiangco added.
He also said that it is also the time for the administration to prove that it is not intimidated by the threat of Romualdez that he will not go down alone.
Tiangco said that accountability must not stop with those involved in carrying out the scheme but must also extend to whoever planned, directed, or benefited from it.
He stressed that recovering public funds and holding every responsible individual accountable — regardless of political affiliation — is the true measure of the government's commitment to fighting corruption.
In an earlier statement, Romualdez's spokesman, lawyer Elaine Atienza, said that there is no evidence linking the former speaker to the flood control mess.
"Despite numerous Senate and House inquiries and other official investigations, no former or incumbent Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official has ever identified Romualdez as having participated in the planning, procurement, implementation, inspection, payment, or release of funds for any alleged ghost project," Atienza said.
Another Romualdez spokesman, lawyer Ade Fajardo, said that Bonoan is the "most polluted,” “very biased” and “not the least guilty” source.