SENATOR Rodante Marcoleta and his co‑accused will face a dozen prosecution witnesses when their plunder case goes into trial proper before the Sandiganbayan Third Division on October 8, government prosecutors confirmed on Friday.
Standing alongside Marcoleta are former representative Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray. The group stands accused of plunder in connection with a ₱75‑million campaign donation received by Marcoleta while he was still a sitting party‑list lawmaker — an amount prosecutors say was never declared in his financial and campaign disclosures.
All four defendants have entered pleas of not guilty to the charges. The anti‑graft court formally concluded pretrial proceedings on Friday and has since finalized the schedule for both the bail hearing and the upcoming trial proper. Associate Justice Karl Miranda, Presiding Chairperson of the Third Division, sought clarity on the prosecution’s witness lineup, specifically asking how many witnesses they intended to present during the bail hearing set for September 3.
Prosecutors initially indicated they planned to present all 12 listed witnesses during the bail hearing as well. However, the court requested clarification on whether the full roster would be deployed at that earlier stage, suggesting the bail proceedings may proceed with fewer witnesses before the complete 12‑witness array is presented once the trial proper commences in October.
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