CIDG: Rodante Marcoleta ready for July 15 Sandiganbayan hearing

[Updated July 14, 2026, 3:48 p.m.]

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Rodante Marcoleta is ready to appear before the Sandiganbayan for his plunder case hearing on Wednesday, July 15, the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP CIDG) said.

“He’s okay,” CIDG National Capital Region (NCR) chief Col. John Guiagui told reporters outside the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame on Tuesday afternoon.

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“He’s ready for tomorrow,” he noted. “So far, so good and we’re just waiting on his evaluation on paper, on document, but as far as our conversation earlier, he’s fit to be presented before the Sandiganbayan by 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.”

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READ: Marcoleta undergoes independent medical exam at PGH amid plunder case

Marcoleta underwent a separate medical examination at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila earlier on Tuesday.

According to Guiagui, the PGH conducted a 2D scan, an x-ray, a blood test, a respiratory test and a physical examination on Marcoleta.

The CIDG NCR chief, however, said it was up to the Sandiganbayan whether Marcoleta is fit to be committed to a jail facility.

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“However things run tomorrow, if he is given a commitment order, the CIDG will be ready,” Guiagui said.

Marcoleta was arrested last July 6 for plunder in connection with a P75-million donation he received when he was a party-list representative.

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However, Marcoleta reportedly experienced chest pains and was confined to the PNP General Hospital (PNPGH).

The PNPGH subsequently said Marcoleta was experiencing mild pneumonia and degenerative disc disease, a condition related to the spine.

On Monday, the Sandiganbayan ordered Marcoleta to undergo further medical examination at the PGH.

Marcoleta was brought out of the PNPGH while on a wheelchair and wearing handcuffs as well as an orange detainee shirt under a protective vest and a jacket.

“It’s part of our security procedures because something might happen. We don’t want that to happen. All protection measures should be done, including having him wear a vest,” Guiagui explained.

“You saw him on a wheelchair. It’s because we don’t want to add more to his stress with everything on his mind and the number of people as we go on the process of having him board the vehicle,” he added.

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He noted that the results of Marcoleta’s medical exams may be released to the CIDG within the day. /mr