Comelec already done with Marcoleta’s campaign donation case – Garcia

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it had already exercised its jurisdiction over Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s P75 million campaign donation case, the one that later became the basis of a plunder case filed by the Ombudsman against the senator.

This was the comment of Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia when asked about Marcoleta’s stance that his case should be returned to the poll body. During the Sandiganbayan Third Division’s hearing last Thursday, the senator, through his counsel, said that his case should be dealt with by the Comelec, and not the Sandiganbayan.

READ: Marcoleta raises jurisdiction issue over campaign contribution case

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Garcia said that the jurisdiction of the poll body is different from other agencies, noting that it handles cases related to campaign donations, contributions, and expenditures.

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“Nag exercise na kami ng jurisdiction at nadetermine na namin kung may liability ba o mayroong liability ’yung involved so kung ano man ’yung jurisdiction ng ibang ahensya ng pamahalaan, siguro sila ang makakasagot dyan,” Garcia told reporters in an interview.

(We already exercised our jurisdiction and we determined if the involved individual has a liability so whatever jurisdiction other agencies have can answer this.)

Last March, the Comelec en banc adopted the poll body’s Political Finance and Affairs Department (PFAD) to terminate the investigation on his campaign donation case “as there being no other evidence to show that the respondent committed any election offense.”

The campaign donation case at the Comelec level stemmed from Marcoleta’s admission in a television show that he did not declare campaign contributions upon the request of his contributors to remain anonymous.

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In his affidavit last January, Marcoleta told the Comelec that while he received P75 million from three donors on three separate occasions, he said he received them well before the start of the campaign period for the national candidates of the 2025 midterm elections. Marcoleta was a sitting party-list representative at that time.

READ: Comelec: Marcoleta didn’t commit poll offense in campaign contributions

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In its findings, the PFAD said that Republic Act No. 7166, or the Synchronized National and Elections Act, repeals Section 109 of the Omnibus Elections Code as an election offense, which requires the full disclosure of the amount of contributions and expenditures.

However, the repeal of Section 109 of the OEC only applies to the candidates, and not to the donors. Thus, the PFAD earlier recommended filing a complaint against Marcoleta’s donors, namely former lawmaker Mike Defensor, Joseph Varias Espiritu, and Aristotle Baluyut Viray, for their failure to submit their respective individual reports of contributions.

Meanwhile, Garcia said that the Comelec is open to once again handling the campaign donation case of the senator.

“Kung biglang ibalik sa amin, wala naman pong problema. The Comelec will exercise its jurisdiction but again, na-perform na po namin ang aming duty. Na-exercise na po namin ang aming jurisdiction and therefore as far as we are concerned, tapos na po kami sa pag-exercise ng jurisdiction,” he expressed.

(If the case is returned to us, there is no problem. The Comelec will exercise its jurisdiction, but again, we already performed our duty. We already exercised our jurisdiction and therefore as far as we are concerned, we are done in exercising our jurisdiction.)

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Marcoleta and his campaign donors were arrested last July over the plunder case. /cb