Sandiganbayan orders arrest of Senator Marcoleta ahead of VP Duterte impeachment trial

The Sandiganbayan, the Philippine anti-graft court, ordered the arrest of a senator who is an ally of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday on a plunder charge, hours before the Senate begins a high-stakes impeachment trial that could determine Duterte's political future.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta was due to sit as a senator-judge on Monday at the impeachment trial against Duterte. If convicted by a two-thirds majority in the 24-member Senate, Duterte could be barred from running in the 2028 elections, where she remains the frontrunner to succeed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcos and Duterte successfully ran on a joint ticket in 2022, but their alliance has since unravelled and turned into a bitter rivalry.

The anti-graft court ordered Marcoleta's arrest after the Ombudsman's office had accused him of accepting 75 million pesos ($1.2 million) from private donors during his 2025 Senate run, violating anti-corruption laws. It also issued a hold departure order against the senator, preventing him from leaving the country.

"A public servant owes no personal debt to any donor that supersedes what they owe the Filipino people," the Ombudsman said in a statement last week.

The prospect of Marcoleta's arrest triggered protests last week, organized by a religious group with 2 million members, that crippled traffic in the capital Manila and forced Marcos to cancel engagements outside the presidential palace.

There was no immediate comment from Marcoleta's office. Last week, he told supporters he was prepared to be jailed.

Last month, Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada was detained on charges of plunder on suspicion of taking kickbacks from infrastructure projects.

($1 = 61.4830 Philippine pesos)

-Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Nestor Corrales; Editing by John Mair/Reuters