Blood samples drawn from Sen. Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday morning, taken after he was kept fasting through the night, will determine what happens next for the 72-year-old lawmaker now held at the Philippine National Police General Hospital in Camp Crame.
Police said the senator has stayed at the facility since Monday, when officers escorting him flagged complaints of chest and nape pain along with elevated blood pressure. Rather than move him immediately, the PNP kept him under watch, and the laboratory work carried out at daybreak is meant to give doctors a clearer reading of his condition before any decision is made.
Whether Marcoleta faces additional procedures hinges entirely on what those results show. For now, medical staff are holding off on further steps until the numbers come back.
His transfer to the hospital traces back to Monday, when the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division turned down his motions and ordered his arrest in a plunder case tied to P75 million in campaign money he has publicly acknowledged receiving. CIDG chief Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II told reporters the senator’s symptoms during booking made hospitalization the first course of action. “Sen. Marcoleta complained of chest pain and had high blood pressure, that’s why we first brought him to the hospital,” Morico said, adding that any findings from PNP physicians would be forwarded to the anti-graft court.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla had earlier signaled that the medical workup could stretch across two days, describing it as a thorough check to establish the senator’s fitness. Officials framed the arrangement as a precaution linked to his age, pointing to the same consideration once given to former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan.
Where Marcoleta will ultimately be detained rests with the Sandiganbayan. Court officials have identified the New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas, which already holds Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and former senator Ramon Revilla Jr., as the likely destination once physicians clear him to leave.
