TURNING POINT: Not Safe

NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 20 November) — Marcoleta is in a catch-22.

He, who is known for his loud and aggressive demeanor, might clam up and find an unobtrusive way out of the mire he’s slipping into.

The Commission on Elections requires Sen. Rodante Marcoleta to explain the apparent inconsistencies in his total declared campaign expenditures in the 2025 midterm elections. 

COMELEC Chair George Garcia said that under Section 99 of the Omnibus Election Code, candidates must declare all campaign-related spending and donations, and there is no exemption. All donations must be declared.

Garcia noticed a discrepancy between Marcoleta’s statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) and statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE). They don’t jibe.

Earlier this month, election watchdog Kontra Daya questioned why Marcoleta declared a net worth of P51.96 million under his SALN this year, but his total campaign spending under his SOCE reached more than twice that amount at P112.86 million.

Because Marcoleta declared receiving no campaign contributions, the entire P112.8 million would have come from his own funds—an amount that exceeds his declared wealth, the watchdog added. How is this possible?

The beleaguered senator later admitted that he had received contributions but would not divulge the names of donors to honor their request.

So he would rather violate the Omnibus Election Code and suffer the consequences than name his donors. This begs the question. Why? Who, anyway, are these donors?

If they are legitimate natural persons or juridical ones, what stopped him from naming them?

Of course, if his donations came from ill-refute or questionable sources, Marcoleta naturally would refuse to name his donors. To expose them would only damage his reputation. Moreover, such would be a betrayal of their trust and might have serious consequences, too.

Marcoleta found himself between the devil and dark, blue sea.

He is not safe.

Marcoleta is a new addition to the Duterte bloc in the Senate who are gasping for breath from corruption scandals and other anomalies.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental.)