Marcoleta moved to Payatas jail

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Rodante Marcoleta joined his co-accused in his plunder case at the New Quezon City Jail yesterday morning.

After being confined at the Philippine National Police (PNP) General Hospital for over a week, Marcoleta was transferred to the detention facility along Payatas Road after the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) found there was no reason to prolong his hospital stay.

During a hearing yesterday on the plunder case against Marcoleta and his co-accused, former congressman Michael Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray, PGH medical director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi disclosed the findings on the medical tests done on Marcoleta by specialists from the hospital’s internal medicine department last Tuesday.

Legaspi revealed that the doctors found Marcoleta was “suffering from… hypertension stage 2 controlled, dyslipidemia, benign prostatic hypertrophy not in retention and cervical osteoarthritis.”

The doctor said the tests done on Marcoleta all showed normal results.

He also confirmed the 72-year-old senator indeed presented signs of pneumonia – which the PNP General Hospital declared as “mild” in its diagnosis since his hospitalization on July 6.

In addition, the PGH result negated the PNP hospital’s findings that Marcoleta had an enlarged heart, as Legaspi explained “sometimes the shadow of the heart is enlarged than it actually is.”

Based on the PGH findings and the “unanimous” decision of its team of doctors, the Sandiganbayan ruled Marcoleta “no longer requires hospital confinement” and that “there is no risk posed to (his) health.”

However, the panel recommended that Marcoleta be “transferred to a place where he has a separate room and not mixed with other persons.”

The court also found that the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory– where Defensor, Espiritu and Viray are currently held – has “the necessary facilities to ensure that accused Marcoleta’s medications are regularly administered, his vital signs will be monitored and that he will be transferred to the nearest government hospital if the need arises.”

Onboard a service vehicle from the PNP, Marcoleta – donning a dark jacket and a bulletproof vest on top of an orange shirt and a black face mask – entered the Sandiganbayan premises in a wheelchair and left the Third Division courtroom walking.

Meanwhile, Defensor, Espiritu and Viray – who all arrived wearing yellow detainee shirts and handcuffed – pleaded not guilty to the plunder case filed against them.

Marcoleta has yet to enter his plea as the court has to resolve his motions to recall the arrest warrant against him and to post bail.

Marcoleta was endorsed to Bureau of Jail Management and Penology which has jurisdiction over the detention facility.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government assured the public that Marcoleta will not receive any special favors and shall receive the same treatment given to the over 3,600 inmates of the detention facility, which include Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and former senator Ramon Revilla Jr.

The court has also scheduled another arraignment for violation of Presidential Decree 46 against the same set of accused on July 22.

Furthermore, the pre-marking of evidence would be held on July 28, 29 and 30 and the pretrial on Aug. 10, wherein the prosecution declared it intended to present “11 to 13 witnesses,” according to the court. The hearings would be scheduled every Monday and Thursday.

Two senators yesterday questioned the timing of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s decision to reopen its probe into the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano claiming the move was intended to intimidate the Senate impeachment court as it hears the case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

During the sixth day of the impeachment trial, Sen. Robinhood Padilla asked whether it was merely a coincidence that the NBI announced the reopening of the SEA Games investigation shortly after Cayetano questioned NBI Director Melvin Matibag during the trial.

Padilla cited the earlier arrest of Marcoleta, the attempted arrest of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa in May and notices he and Cayetano had received from the ombudsman.

Cayetano later took the floor to defend himself and accuse the NBI of creating a “chilling effect” on the impeachment court.

“Is it fair to the court? Are you trying to intimidate me so I won’t ask tough questions on Monday because you announced you are investigating me?” Cayetano said.

“They are reducing us one by one,” he added.  – Ghio ong, Mark Ernest Villeza