DAYS after being “arrested,” Senator Rodante Marcoleta was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease – an ailment which according to a police official requires long-term rehabilitation and therapy.
In its medical bulletin, the PNP General Hospital (PNPGH) claimed that the senator is also suffering from pneumonia which may have been developed prior to his arrest.
“Yung findings niya sa ngayon po may pneumonia po si Senator Marcoleta via chest X-ray. Syempre, hypertensive si Senator Marcoleta,” said Lieutenant Colonel Benaly Bayani, chief of the Internal Medicine Department of the PNPGH.
For Marcoleta’s spinal condition, Bayani recommended that the 72-year old patient be allowed to stay in the hospital to undergo rehabilitation and therapy.
However, web sources showed that degenerative disc disease (DDD) is not a true disease, but rather the natural breakdown of spinal discs due to aging or injury.
“As discs lose fluid and flexibility, they shrink and become less effective at absorbing shock. This often causes chronic neck or lower back pain that worsens with sitting or bending,” reads an AI-generated information.
As for Marcoleta’s pneumonia, Bayani said it’s “mild and not worrisome.” The senator, he added, has also shown symptoms of hypertension after recording a blood pressure of 160/90, which is considered high for his age.
“Sa edad po niya, at saka fluctuating blood pressure niya, hindi maganda para sa kanya,” Bayani averred.
Meanwhile, PNP chief Police General Jose Melencio Nartatez warded off suspicions that Marcoleta is being accorded with “special treatment.”
As of Wednesday morning, the Sandiganbayan Third Division said it was still waiting for an update from the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) regarding Marcoleta’s status.
Lawyer Dennis Pulma, clerk of court of the Sandiganbayan Third Division, said the court has yet to receive information on when Marcoleta will be brought to the Sandiganbayan for the return of the warrant and commitment order.
Marcoleta was arrested on Monday for a non-bailable plunder case.
