FACT CHECK: Rodante Marcoleta is still senator

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Marcoleta remains listed as a senator on the Senate’s website, and he debunked the claim of his supposed removal from the Senate in a December 15 hearing

Claim: Rodante Marcoleta has been removed from his position as senator because of a perjury complaint filed with the Ombudsman.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post making the false claim has gained 4,800 reactions, 2,400 comments, and 161 shares as of writing. The page that posted it, “Hot Balita Ngayon,” has 13,000 followers.

“Kakapasok lang! Yari na, Marcoleta nabigla sa mabigat na hatol sa kanya, tanggal na sa Senado,” text on the post’s photo reads. Above it, photos of Marcoleta, Ombudsman Boying Remulla, and other government officials are shown.

(Just in! That’s it, Marcoleta was shocked by the harsh verdict against him, he was removed from the Senate.)

The post’s caption mentions a complaint filed with the Ombudsman as the reason behind the supposed removal.

At the end of the caption and in the comments, the post’s author includes a link to an article supposedly providing more details about the issue. A URL screenshot that removes ads from the webpage shows that the article is titled “Nanganganib ang pwesto ni Rodante Marcoleta: Ombudsman Remulla sinuri ang kaso ng perjury at posibleng pagpatalsik.”

(Rodante Marcoleta’s position is in jeopardy: Ombudsman Remulla reviews perjury case and possible ouster.)

The facts: Marcoleta remains listed as a senator of the 20th Congress on the Senate’s website. No announcements about his resignation have been made on his official social media accounts, the Senate’s news archives, or media reports.

The senator also debunked the claim himself during a December 15 Senate hearing of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media. He labeled the post as “fake,” along with a slew of other social media posts.

Additionally, Marcoleta’s appearance at this hearing contradicts the claim of his supposed removal from the Senate, which was posted earlier on December 12.

Perjury complaint: While his removal as senator is false, the perjury complaint filed against him with the Ombudsman is true. Unlike the post’s claim, neither the Ombudsman’s website nor credible news reports have mentioned a final decision on the case or his dismissal as of writing. 

According to an Inquirer.net report, poll watchdog Kontra Daya and representatives of Advocates for Public Interest Law filed the complaint on December 5 for alleged discrepancies in Marcoleta’s campaign finance report.

The complainants claimed that Marcoleta publicly acknowledged receiving P112 million in campaign donations, but declared zero contributions in his Statement of Contribution and Expenditures for the 2025 elections. They also cited statements the senator made during a televised interview with Net25, where he said he deliberately declared zero contributions to protect the anonymity of his donors.

“This admission shows that he consciously chose to declare zero contributions precisely to avoid disclosing his donors, despite knowing that the law required him to do so,” the complainants said, as quoted in Inquirer.net’s report.

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has debunked other false claims about Marcoleta:

• FACT CHECK: Marcoleta not replacing Marcos as president 
• FACT CHECK: Marcoleta is a senator, not the House speaker
• FACT CHECK: Marcoleta not behind West Philippine Sea label on Google Maps 
• FACT CHECK: Karen Davila did not question Marcoleta’s Senate win 
• FACT CHECK: Marcos did not appoint Marcoleta as new energy secretary 

– Shay Du/Rappler.com

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