MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson called out Sen. Rodante Marcoleta for claiming that his impending arrest over plunder charges was linked to the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Marcoleta on Tuesday claimed that the case against him had long been planned, citing Lacson's remarks weeks earlier that nine more senators could be arrested and jailed.
"It’s gaslighting time once more," Lacson wrote on X in reaction to Marcoleta's accusation.
"The mention of nine senators being possibly incarcerated was a hypothetical statement in the context of determining the base number to compute the constitutional requirement of 2/3 vote of all senators actively participating or not in the impeachment trial," Lacson said.
Marcoleta on Facebook said the plunder case that the Office of the Ombudsman was preparing to file against him before the Sandiganbayan was aimed at stopping him from exposing corruption and taking part in the impeachment trial which starts on July 6.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the case against Marcoleta was "for resolution" and they were "about to file it already." The case stemmed from the P75 million in gifts or donations that Marcoleta received from three individuals in January 2025 when he was a congressman.
Meanwhile, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) questioned the charges against Marcoleta.
In a statement on news channel NET25 also on Tuesday, INC spokesman Edwil Zabala said in Filipino why the senator should be "prosecuted and jailed" when he was the one "responsible for exposing the victims of the biggest robbery in the Philippines."
"How did the acceptance of campaign contribution become plunder?" he added.