A formal complaint seeking an election offense case has been filed against Senator Rodante Marcoleta for allegedly failing to declare the sources of his campaign funds in the May 2025 elections.
Formal Allegations Filed with Comelec
The complaint was formally lodged with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, December 5, 2025. The lead complainant is Danilo Arao, the lead convener of the election watchdog Kontra Daya, alongside the group Advocates of Public Interest Law.
In a seven-page complaint-affidavit, they accused Marcoleta of violating provisions of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC), specifically Sections 98 and 107. Arao stated the filing was due to the senator's "willful and deliberate falsehood in filling out the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures."
Discrepancy Between Reported Funds and Net Worth
The core of the allegation centers on Marcoleta's official SoCE for the 2025 elections. In the document, he reported receiving P0 in contributions while listing campaign expenditures totaling P112,857,951.44.
This has raised significant questions, as the senator's latest Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) shows a net worth of only P51.9 million. Critics have pointedly asked how he could spend more than double his declared net worth without any recorded contributions.
Senator's Defense and Legal Implications
Senator Marcoleta has explained that friends provided funds for his 2025 campaign. However, he stated he intentionally did not declare these donations to honor the donors' requests to remain anonymous.
The complaint argues this justification does not absolve him of legal responsibility. "By publicly admitting that he received contributions but deliberately reported them as zero in his SoCE, Respondent knowingly violated Sections 98 and 107 of the OEC," the document states. It asserts there is probable cause to believe an election offense was committed.
Section 98 of the OEC prohibits accepting or recording contributions under any name other than the true donor's. Section 107 mandates that every candidate must file a complete, true, and itemized SoCE. Violations of these provisions constitute an election offense.
Arao emphasized that the alleged act is "not just a violation of the law but also of ethics as a public official," and that Marcoleta should be held accountable. The Comelec is now expected to review the complaint to determine if there is sufficient basis to proceed with a formal investigation.
