Updated
Updated · Inquirer.net · Jul 6
Philippine Police Arrest Mike Defensor, Joseph Espiritu in P75 Million Plunder Case
Updated
Updated · Inquirer.net · Jul 6

Philippine Police Arrest Mike Defensor, Joseph Espiritu in P75 Million Plunder Case

3 articles · Updated · Inquirer.net · Jul 6

Summary

  • Mike Defensor and businessman Joseph Espiritu were arrested Monday in Quezon City and were being taken to the Sandiganbayan over a non-bailable plunder case.
  • The case centers on the alleged non-disclosure of P75 million in campaign donations tied to Senator Rodante Marcoleta during the last elections.
  • Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said police nabbed the two while they were having coffee at a Starbucks branch in Quezon City.
  • The Office of the Ombudsman filed the plunder case at the Sandiganbayan, where it was raffled to the court's Third Division on Friday morning.
  • Defensor and Espiritu are co-accused with Marcoleta in a case stemming from donations allegedly made with Aristotle Viray before Marcoleta's 2025 Senate run.

Insights

Can a P75 million 'donation,' previously cleared by election officials, now be considered non-bailable plunder?
As a powerful church cries 'selective justice,' is a senator a victim or a corrupt official facing the law?
Is a senator's arrest a strike against corruption or a play to control the Vice President's impeachment trial?