“Mapipilitan Akong Gawing Zero”: The Day Senator Rodante Marcoleta Confessed to Perjury on National Television and Thought We’d Clap for the Creativity

How to Confess to Perjury in One Sentence and Still Think “Utang na Loob” Is a Valid Defense

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — December 7, 2025

MGA ka-kweba, grab your popcorn and your Revised Penal Code. The Learned Gentleman from SAGIP (a.k.a. Our Obfuscator-in-Chief, a.k.a. the man who looked the camera dead in the eye and delivered the single dumbest legal defense since “the dog ate my COC”) has gifted us a masterpiece.

He didn’t just file a false SOCE. He went on TV and explained the crime in slow motion, complete with dramatic pauses, like a telenovela villain monologuing about how he’s going to hide the body.

“Mapipilitan akong gawing zero ‘yun… dahil pag nilagyan ko ng amount ‘yun, mapipilitan akong isa-isa kayong idisclose.”

Translation for the three remaining people who still believe in him:

“I deliberately lied under oath because I didn’t want to follow the law.”

Congratulations, Senator. That’s not just perjury. That’s perjury with a PowerPoint presentation.

**BREAKING: Senator invents negative transparency—so honest he subtracts truth from the budget.**

1. The “Utang na Loob” Defense: The Legal Equivalent of “My Dog Ate My Homework, But the Dog Is Filipino Culture”

Ah yesssss, the classic “utang na loob” gambit. Donors allegedly begged him not to reveal their names because they wanted their millions treated as a personal favor instead of a campaign contribution.

Let’s be crystal clear, mga ka-kweba: the moment you accept money to run for the Senate and agree to hide the source because “utang na loob,” you have just confessed to a textbook quid pro quo arrangement wrapped in cultural gift ribbon.

This isn’t nuance. This is a smoking gun wearing a barong tagalog.

It’s the same energy as Al Capone saying he didn’t have to pay taxes because his mob earnings were “just tips from grateful friends.” Or Enron executives claiming their off-books entities were actually “utang na loob” to shareholders. History is not kind to that defense, and neither is Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code.

2. The Fatal Phrase: “Mapipilitan Akong Gawing Zero”

Repeat after me, class:
“Mapipilitan akong gawing zero.”

That, ladies and gentlemen of the imaginary jury, is what those in the legal trade call a verbatim televised confession to the element of willfulness and deliberate intent.

He didn’t say “I forgot.”
He didn’t say “my treasurer made a mistake.”
He said he was forced—by the law itself—to lie.

Res ipsa loquitur, motherf*ckers. The thing speaks for itself.

He took an oath to tell the truth on the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE), then consciously decided that donor privacy > transparency laws. That’s not confusion. That’s contempt of statute.

3. The Multi-Agency Circus: Where Everyone Gets a Piece of the Senator

We now have the most delicious jurisdictional food fight in recent memory:

Office of the Ombudsman – sharpening the perjury indictment (Sandiganbayan-bound, baby).
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) – already issued a show-cause order (Chairman Garcia is not here to play patintero).
Senate Ethics Committee – the place good complaints go to die in a group hug and a prayer.
SALN watchers – quietly measuring whether the “utang na loob” money magically turned into undeclared houses, cars, or a sudden fondness for limited-edition watches. Republic Act No. 6713 violation, anyone?

It’s like watching hyenas fight over a particularly slow gazelle wearing a barong.

4. The Precedent Parade (Now With Actual Teeth)

Lanot v. COMELEC (G.R. No. 164858) – False material representation in election documents can lead to perpetual disqualification. Forever. Walang forever? May forever disqualification pala.
Republic Act No. 11594 – The new perjury law that says “public officials who lie under oath get the maximum penalty, plus a ¢1 million fine, plus they can never hold public office again.” Merry Christmas, Senator.
Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (Omnibus Election Code) + Republic Act No. 7166 – The “Transparency Commandments” he treated like optional DLC.

5. Strategic Theatre: What Comes Next

Marcoleta’s likely playbook (in order of desperation):

“It was just a loan/gift, not a contribution!”
“The SOCE form is vague!” (Narrator: It’s not.)
Tearful press conference revealing donors who suddenly, conveniently, want to be named now that the heat is on.
Motion to dismiss because “utang na loob” is a human right.

Kontra Daya’s job: Do not let this die in one agency. File with COMELEC, follow up with the Ombudsman, shame the Senate Ethics Committee in public, and if the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) smells fishy, drop that bomb too. Multi-front warfare or nothing.

6. The Spectacle of Consequences (Pick Your Own Adventure)

Best-case for Marcoleta: ¢30,000 COMELEC fine, sternly worded letter, and everyone forgets by 2028.
Realistic-case: Years-long Sandiganbayan circus while he enjoys parliamentary immunity and the public moves on to the next scandal.
Justice-case (unlikely but delicious): Conviction → prision mayor → perpetual disqualification → Senate seat vacated → political earthquake in the administration coalition.

The Barok Recommendation (Dead Serious Edition)

To the complainants (Kontra Daya, Atty. Lacson, et al.):

Gather the receipts. Bank records, donor testimonies, deeds of donation—make the paper trail airtight.
File the parallel Senate Ethics complaint tomorrow.
If COMELEC drags its feet, file a mandamus.
Watch the SALN like a hawk and file the Republic Act No. 6713 case the moment the numbers don’t add up.

To the Ombudsman and COMELEC:

Probable cause here is screaming from the rooftops. Indict. Audit. Disqualify. Do not give us another “technicality” escape hatch.

To the public:

Do not let this fade. Share the clip of him saying “mapipilitan akong gawing zero” until every voter in the country has seen it. Shame is still a currency in this country—spend it.

Because if this man gets away with confessing to perjury on national television because “utang na loob,” then the rule of law in this country isn’t just broken.

It’s already six feet under, wearing a barong, and still asking for a donation.

Sige, Senator. Ipaliwanag mo ulit. Live. Walang edit.

—Barok