Manila: Senator Rodante Marcoleta returned to the Philippine National Police-General Hospital (PNPGH) Tuesday afternoon following his independent medical examination at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in Manila. Earlier, the senator was transported to the UP-PGH for a medical checkup following a Sandiganbayan order, the PNP said.

According to Philippines News Agency, he was seen wearing handcuffs and a detainee shirt while in a wheelchair and assisted in boarding a PNPGH vehicle, which was escorted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on its way to the UP-PGH. The vehicle carrying Marcoleta left the PNPGH at around 11:15 a.m. and returned around 1:33 p.m.

"It was not stated in the order of the Sandiganbayan but we presume ito po ay titingnan kung (to determine) if he will be fit to undergo trial," PNP spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co told reporters in a press briefing held at PNPGH. He said the Sandiganbayan's decision to transport Marcoleta to UP-PGH from the PNPGH for medical evaluation was to remove any doubts as to the real medical condition of the legislator.

Col. Co added, "Stable naman po, yun po ang mga reports na narereceive natin from the PNPGH. Wala naman pong life-threatening or any illness na nadevelop na bago. Of course yung security na nilalatag natin only is commensurate to whether puwedeng sa threat sa tao (It's stable, those are the reports we're receiving from the PNPGH. There is nothing life-threatening or any new illness that has developed. Of course, the security we provide is only commensurate with whether it poses a threat to people). We do not want anything to happen to the senator, especially while under the custody and care of the PNP."

Marcoleta was earlier diagnosed by the PNPGH with mild pneumonia and elevated cholesterol, aside from his elevated blood pressure, which was controlled a few days after his arrest. The senator is in the custody of the PNP after his arrest for a non-bailable plunder case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman over undeclared campaign donations.

Marcoleta voluntarily appeared in Sandiganbayan on July 6 as he filed a motion to quash in relation to the plunder and indirect bribery case filed against him and his co-accused, former congressman Mike Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.