The Parallelism About ABS CBN Closure And Marcoleta's Situation With The Ombudsman

I just hope you remember the American soap opera "As The World Turns" on CBS.

I remember the time of Covid 19 when netizens were pleading on Rodante Marcoleta's FB page, explaining to him that the ABS-CBN cease and desist was wrongly timed ... being in the middle of the pandemic. There's no place to go but deal with claustrophobia in the narrow confines of your room ... but it fell on deaf ears anyway.

Imagine ... lockdown was enforced, nobody was allowed to roam around, and there was no alternative source of entertainment in the household, where suicide and domestic violence became a staple.

Ah, those were some harrowing nights indeed. And netizens' needs were ignored in favor of the PRRD's raging vendetta.

In Philippine politics, the world has turned in 2026... and what better reason to celebrate than the season finale of Gulong Ng Buhay - Philippine Political Karma edition, where the universe has proven to be an exceptional scriptwriter with a twisted sense of poetic justice.

Back in 2020, Representative/Senator-at-Large Rodante Marcoleta was the undisputed Apex Predator of the House of Representatives.

Armed with a microphone, a giant presentation deck, and an insatiable desire to count the exact number of dual citizens in a boardroom, he single-handedly spearheaded the corporate execution of ABS-CBN.

He was the ultimate hound, sniffing out every corporate nook, cranny, and PEZA certificate.

Flash forward to 2026, and the cosmic turntable has spun 180 degrees.

The Grand Inquisitor (Rodante Marcoleta, of course) has been officially downgraded to an inquisitor. The hound has been successfully hounded.

Let us review the spectacular, mirrored irony of Marcoleta’s current existential crisis.

1. The Fiscal Mirage: Tax Avoidance vs. The Zero-Peso Magic Trick
In 2020, Marcoleta became a household name by lecturing the country on the evils of corporate financial gymnastics.

He accused ABS-CBN of using "tax avoidance schemes" to deprive the government of its rightful share.

[ THE MARCOLETA MATHEMATICAL FORMULA ]

* 2020 Version: Big Corporate Revenues - Legal Deductions = "Tax Avoidance!"

* 2026 Version: ₱112 Million Donations - Zero Listed in SOCE = "Honest Mistake!"

The Parallel: Today, Marcoleta is facing perjury and indirect bribery complaints at the Ombudsman for a completely different kind of financial wizardry. In a moment of absolute bravado, he publicly admitted to receiving between ₱75 million and ₱112 million in campaign donations. The problem? His official Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) listed exactly zero pesos in contributions.

The Satire: ABS-CBN was accused of hiding money through complex, cross-border corporate accounting. Marcoleta, on the other hand, tried to hide ₱112 million by using the "Ghost Pattern"—hoping the COMELEC wouldn't notice a nine-figure campaign that paid for itself out of thin air.

2. The Mystery Owners: Philippine Deposit Receipts vs. The Anonymous Oligarchs

One of Marcoleta’s favorite sticks to beat the media network with was the issue of Philippine Deposit Receipts (PDRs). He argued aggressively that these financial instruments allowed foreign ghosts to pull the strings of a local media empire.

-The Parallel: Now, the Ombudsman is asking the exact same question Marcoleta used to scream into his microphone: Who actually owns you?

-The Inversion: While it’s not about foreign entities this time, the core issue is identical—beneficial ownership and secret control. The public wants to know which specific corporate titans or political dynasties handed Marcoleta ₱112 million under the table. When asked to reveal the names, the former champion of transparency suddenly clutched his chest and argued that he must protect his donors' privacy. It turns out "secrecy" is an unforgivable sin for a television network, but a mandatory security feature for a politician's bank account.

3. The "Big Dipper" Inversion

During the 2020 franchise hearings, Marcoleta treated the word "Big Dipper" (ABS-CBN's digital support subsidiary) like it was a cartel safe house. He claimed the company routed money through the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to enjoy a lower 5% tax rate, calling it an unethical corporate shield.

-The Parallel: In 2026, Marcoleta has created his very own "Big Dipper"—except instead of a digital tech firm, his tax shield is absolute silence. By refusing to disclose his financial backers, he has created a personalized economic zone where campaign laws do not apply.

-The Satire: When ABS-CBN defended its PEZA registration, Marcoleta called it "lawyering." When the Ombudsman calls out Marcoleta’s undocumented millions, he calls it "persecution" and a "warning shot against political dissent."

4. The Hound is Now the Houndee

The most delicious parallelism is the structural shift in his daily routine. In 2020, Marcoleta sat comfortably on an elevated congressional dais, peering down at executives, demanding documents, and cutting off their microphones whenever they tried to explain the context of their operations.

Today, he is the one sweating under the glare of the Ombudsman's investigators. He is the one releasing frantic press statements claiming the complaints are "trumped-up." He is experiencing the exact claustrophobia of the witness stand—where every word you said in the past is recorded, cataloged, and used to trap you.

[ THE COSMIC SCRIPT REVERSAL ]

* Act I (2020): "Show us the corporate books or we shut you down!" (Director: Marcoleta)

* Act II (2026): "Show us the SOCE receipts, or we send you to jail!" (Director: Karma)

Is this role reversal a sure way of teaching Marcoleta about his past excesses? Absolutely. The universe has effectively forced him to watch a rerun of his own 2020 performance, except this time, he's the one fighting for his franchise.

For years, he weaponized the technicalities of the law to destroy an institution because he had the numbers. Now, the technicalities of the law are coming for his freedom, and his "DuDirty 13" numbers are rapidly shrinking.

Before you spend your career digging financial graves for your political enemies, make sure your own campaign liabilities aren't buried in a shallow, transparent folder marked "Zero Contributions."