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Philippine senator Marcoleta arrested for plunder hours before Duterte impeachment trial
With Marcoleta and Estrada in jail and dela Rosa in hiding, pro-Duterte senators in the impeachment trial are decimated to eight: Go, Padilla, Marcos, Villar siblings, Legarda, Cayetano siblings
- PUBLISHED: Mon 6 Jul 2026, 7:51 AM UPDATED: Mon 6 Jul 2026, 3:03 PM
Another Philippine Senator had been arrested on Monday morning, changing the composition of the impeachment court against Vice President Sara Duterte anew.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta was arrested hours before senators were to begin the impeachment trial against Duterte starting at 2pm (Philippine time) on July 6.
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Marcoleta was charged with plunder, a non-bailable offence, tied to his alleged failure to declare P75 million ($1.2 million) in unused election campaign funds. He also failed to declare the amount in his annual assets and net worth, nor in his election contributions and election expenditures reports.
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Known as a Duterte ally, Marcoleta on Monday went to the Sandiganbayan to have the anti-corruption court drop the charges against him. The Court issued an arrest warrant in his presence instead.
Marcoleta in effect delivered himself to arresting authorities waiting outside for exactly the same eventuality. Department of Interior and Local Government secretary Jonvic Remulla and Philippine National Police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr led the arrest.
Marcoleta has joined fellow senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada in jail, himself facing flood control kickback allegations.
With both senators in jail and senator Ronald dela Rosa in hiding, pro-Duterte senators in the impeachment trial are decimated to eight: Christopher 'Bong' Go, Robinhood Padilla, Imee Marcos, Mark Villar, Camille Villar, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, and Loren Legarda.
Senators Francis Escudero and Joel Villanueva, previously included in their camp, recently broke ranks and recognised the leadership of new Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.
Observers say Marcoleta’s absence in the trial would impact heavily on the pro-Duterte camp in the Senate. Remaining Duterte allies in the Senate are left with only two lawyers, the Cayetanos, while the rest are seen to be intellectual lightweights except for former journalist Legarda. Their votes, however, still count.
There are potentially 13 senators seen as favoring the conviction of Duterte: Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Francis Escudero, Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Kiko Pangilinan, Tito Sotto, Erwin Tulfo, Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Gatchalian. As per Constitutional rules, however, they are still three votes short of securing a conviction.