Philippine Senator Rodante Marcoleta, an ally of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, is arrested on a plunder charge shortly before the Senate begins an impeachment trial. Multiple outlets report that Marcoleta is detained hours ahead of his scheduled role as a senator-judge at the start of the Senate proceedings against Duterte-Carpio.
The arrest follows an order from the country’s anti-graft court, according to one report. Other coverage states that the case involves a plunder charge and that the timing—coming just before the impeachment trial begins—affects the Senate’s roster for the trial proceedings.
The impeachment trial is described as high-stakes for Duterte-Carpio’s political future. If the Senate reaches a two-thirds majority conviction, Duterte-Carpio could be barred from running in the 2028 elections, where she remains a potential candidate. The reports present the arrest as separate from the impeachment process but closely timed to it, with Marcoleta’s participation as a senator-judge at issue.
