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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sandiganbayan to hear Marcoleta's hospitalization Friday

Sandiganbayan to hear Marcoleta's hospitalization Friday

Published Jul 9, 2026 07:30 pm

At A Glance

  • The hearing comes days after the Sandiganbayan Third Division issued warrants of arrest and hold departure orders against Marcoleta, former lawmaker Michael "Mike" Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Varias Espiritu and Aristotle Baluyot Viray after finding probable cause in the plunder case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
(SANTI SAN JUAN/MB FILE PHOTO)
(SANTI SAN JUAN/MB FILE PHOTO)
The Sandiganbayan Third Division has scheduled a hearing on Friday, July 10, to take up the manifestation filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the compliance submitted by the PNP General Hospital regarding the hospitalization of Senator Rodante Marcoleta.
Lawyer Dennis Pulma, the clerk of court of the Third Division, said the hearing, scheduled at 8:30 a.m., will tackle the manifestation filed by the PNP-CIDG, which has custody of Marcoleta, as well as the compliance submitted by the PNP General Hospital.
“Yung PNP CIDG, ’yung may custody sa kanya, sa kanila ’yung manifestation. And then ’yung PNP General Hospital nag-file ng compliance, so ’yung manifestation na ’yon tsaka compliance will be heard tomorrow, 8:30 a.m. (The PNP-CIDG, which has custody of him, filed the manifestation. Then the PNP General Hospital filed a compliance, so that manifestation and compliance will be heard tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.),” he told reporters on Thursday, July 9.
Pulma said the court has ordered the appearance of the head of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility where Marcoleta is supposed to be committed, the chief of its medical unit, the chief of the CIDG Regional Field Unit-National Capital Region, the director of the PNP Health Service, the head of the PNP General Hospital, the physician who issued Marcoleta’s medical abstract, members of the prosecution, and the lawyers of all the accused.
(SANTI SAN JUAN/MB FILE PHOTO)
(SANTI SAN JUAN/MB FILE PHOTO)
He clarified that Marcoleta and his co-accused are not required to appear at the hearing.
Only their lawyers and the concerned government officials have been summoned, he added.
Pulma said the hearing will also tackle Marcoleta’s continued custody, noting that the anti-graft court has yet to issue a commitment order because the senator remains under police custody while confined at the PNP General Hospital.
“Ang reason, simply because wala pa sa amin ang kustodiya, nandoon sa kanila (The reason is simply because custody has not yet been transferred to us. He remains under their custody),” he said.
The hearing comes days after the Sandiganbayan Third Division issued warrants of arrest and hold departure orders against Marcoleta, former lawmaker Michael “Mike” Defensor, and businessmen Joseph Varias Espiritu and Aristotle Baluyot Viray after finding probable cause in the plunder case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
(SANTI SAN JUAN/MB FILE PHOTO)
(SANTI SAN JUAN/MB FILE PHOTO)
The anti-graft court ordered Marcoleta committed to the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, where former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Senator Jinggoy Estrada are also detained. However, the commitment has yet to be carried out because he remains under the custody of the PNP-CIDG while confined at the PNP General Hospital.
The plunder case stemmed from allegations that Marcoleta and his co-accused failed to declare a total of P75 million in campaign donations received during the 2025 elections. The Ombudsman accused them of concealing the donations by not reporting them in the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) filed with the Commission on Elections.
Sandiganbayan records showed that the manifestation submitted by the PNP-CIDG stated that Marcoleta remained under its custody and was confined at the PNP General Hospital at the time it was filed.
When asked about the purpose of the manifestation, Pulma said it was submitted in compliance with the court’s directive and includes medical documents that cannot be disclosed publicly.

Related Tags

Sandiganbayan Rodante Marcoleta PNP-CIDG PNP General Hospital plunder case hospitalization hearing Dennis Pulma legal proceedings judiciary
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