Rodante Marcoleta

Rodante Dizon Marcoleta (, ; born July 29, 1953) is a Filipino television host, lawyer and politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines following the 2025 Philippine Senate election. He has served as the representative for the SAGIP Partylist since 2016. He previously served as the representative for the Alagad Party-list from 2004 to 2013, senior deputy House Majority Leader from 2018 to 2019, and as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022. He is the first elected Philippine senator who is a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo. He is also the host of ''Sagip Barangay ng Mamamayan in Action'', and the co-host of ''Sa Ganang Mamamayan''. Marcoleta's son, Paolo Henry Marcoleta, is the president of the SAGIP Partylist.

Marcoleta chaired the Committee on Poverty Alleviation (2009), and later the Special Committee on Globalization and WTO (2018). Marcoleta also chaired the CA Committee on Public Works and Highways, and as assistant majority leader of the Commission on Appointments until he was unanimously expelled from five committees

Early life and education

Rodante Dizon Marcoleta was born on July 29, 1953, in Paniqui, Tarlac to Pacifico Cangco Marcoleta and Candida Calma Dizon. His parents are farmers and is the second among nine siblings.

Marcoleta obtained a master's degree in business administration at the University of the East and a doctorate in public administration at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2020. He also accomplished a developmental leadership program at Harvard Kennedy School.

House of Representatives of the Philippines

Representing Alagad (2004–2013)

Marcoleta was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines under the 13th Congress representing the partylist of Alagad from 2004 to 2007, which sought to represent the urban poor sector in Congress. Marcoleta was among the twelve new partylist congressmen who were already millionaires before being sworn in. He was later reelected under Alagad twice to the 15th and 16th Congress, serving from 2007 until 2013.

During his first term as congressman, Marcoleta was criticized for filing numerous bills and resolutions that were unrelated to issues concerning the urban poor, and was considered one of the leading proponents for family planning in the House of Representatives. In June 2005, Marcoleta endorsed the first impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano for "betrayal of public trust" in the aftermath of the Hello Garci scandal. As an administration congressman, Marcoleta explained that his intent was find out how truthful the electoral fraud allegations against the president were, and the decision to endorse was not influenced by the Iglesia ni Cristo. Minority Leader Francis Escudero criticized Marcoleta's decision due to it initiating a one-year-ban on filing for another impeachment, voicing his belief that the complaint was merely for show in order to prevent the opposition from filing its own impeachment complaint against president Arroyo.

Representing SAGIP (2016–present)

In 2016, under the 17th Congress, he was elected party-list representative of the Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty, more commonly known by its abbreviation SAGIP. He is known as the proponent of slashing the budget of the Commission on Human Rights to . Marcoleta was one of the principal authors of the landmark law Magna Carta of the Poor, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in April 2019.

During the 18th Congress, he served as a house deputy speaker.

One of the vocal detractors against ABS-CBN, Marcoleta is one of the 70 representatives who voted to permanently deny the renewal of the network's franchise and is responsible for the termination of the landmark partnership deal between ABS-CBN and TV5.

On September 18, 2024, Marcoleta was removed as vice chairperson (and effectively as a member) of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and replaced by representative Janette Garin of Iloilo's 1st district. A week later on September 25, Marcoleta was unanimously expelled from five further committees (Constitutional Amendments, Public Accounts, Energy, Justice and the Commission on Appointments) by the House of Representatives and replaced by Manila Teachers Party-list representative Virgilio Lacson. Although no explanation was given, his removal from the committees came after his actions opposing the House committees' investigations into Vice President Sara Duterte's fund utilization.

During a House inquiry on disinformation in 2025, Marcoleta falsely claimed that "there was no West Philippine Sea", that it is only a designation "created by us" and does not appear in maps. He was fact-checked for this claim. A few days thereafter, he backpedaled as his remark drew flak. He clarified that the label does not appear in international maps and that the sea is the Philippines' regardless of the name.COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines