Sen. Rodante Marcoleta was granted a medical furlough by the Sandiganbayan Third Division to undergo tests for hypertension and prostate enlargement as he faced the first hearing on his petition for bail in a plunder case.

Marcoleta appeared before the anti-graft court Thursday for the hearing on his bid to post bail for the non-bailable charge.

His lawyer told the court that Marcoleta needed medical examinations outside his detention facility because appropriate facilities were not available there.

The defense said the tests could be completed within a day and that Marcoleta could be returned afterward to the New Quezon City Jail-Male Dormitory.

The Third Division set the medical trip for 7 September, with Marcoleta to be escorted to a private hospital in Pasig City.

Before his transfer to the Quezon City Jail, Marcoleta had spent nine days at the PNP General Hospital, where he received treatment for similar medical conditions.

‘Gift, not campaign donations’

The plunder case stems from Marcoleta’s alleged receipt of ₱75 million in 2025 from former congressman Mike Defensor and businessmen Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.

All four were charged with plunder and separate violations of Presidential Decree No. 46, or the anti-gift-giving law.

During the bail hearing, Marcoleta’s camp argued that the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Commission on Elections because it involved his campaign.

State prosecutors countered that Marcoleta himself had submitted documents indicating that the amounts were treated as personal funds rather than campaign donations.

The amount was also allegedly not declared in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures.

The Office of the Ombudsman later found that the amount was also omitted from Marcoleta’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth for the same year.

Marcoleta had disclosed the transactions during an online broadcast in November 2025.

After the hearing, he posted bail of ₱30,000 each for three cases involving alleged violations of P.D. 46.