INDEPENDENT election watchdog Kontra Daya has urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate Sen. Rodante D. Marcoleta for allegedly submitting a false Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (Soce).
The group flagged a major discrepancy between Marcoleta’s declared assets and his campaign spending.
His 2025 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) showed only P51.9 million, yet his Soce indicated he spent P112.8 million during the May 2025 midterm elections, Kontra Daya said.
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.
His Soce also showed that most of his expenses went to radio and television advertisements.
The senator later admitted in a television interview that he deliberately omitted his campaign donors’ names to honor their request to stay anonymous.
But Kontra Daya convener Danilo A. Arao said this justification violates the law requiring candidates to fully declare all contributions and expenditures.
‘To say that his ‘friends’ prefer to remain anonymous is just a convenient excuse not to be transparent. As a lawyer, he should know better. As an elected senator, he should know what accountability means,’ Arao said.
‘Right now, it is proper for the likes of him to be investigated and to be penalized for what he has done.’
Arao added that Marcoleta personally certified his Soce, signing the section stating that he prepared the document himself and that ‘all information contained herein are true and correct.’
He also said both the Comelec and the Senate Electoral Tribunal must initiate an investigation.
‘The poll body should take this seriously as the COMELEC SOCE form appears to have been not truthfully filled out, based on Marcoleta’s own statement,’ he added.
When asked if Kontra Daya plans to file an election case against the senator, Arao said the group will ‘consider all options.’
Reached for comment, Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia said in a text message that he will first review Marcoleta’s Soce.
Asked whether anonymous campaign donors may be exempted from disclosure, Garcia replied: ‘everything should be declared.’