MANILA, Philippines – Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo on Friday denied rumors spreading via social media that President Rodrigo Duterte was rushed to a hospital in Metro Manila.
In an interview with reporters on Friday, Panelo said the chief executive was not brought to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, quashing online speculations that Duterte allegedly had a checkup at a medical facility somewhere in Greenhills.
Panelo assured the public that Duterte is in good health. He said he had talked with the chief executive on the phone for 10 to 15 minutes Thursday evening. He added the President seemed lively.
The Palace official also denied that the Office of the President had called a full Cabinet meeting in Davao City on Friday, June 16, amid the continuous absence of Duterte from public view.
Panelo said he is now in Manila and won’t go to Davao. He said it could be possible that critics of the President were behind the spread via social media of the false information about the Cabinet meeting, linking it to questions about Duterte’s state of health.
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Calls are growing for Malacañang to publicly disclose the health condition of the President.
On Friday, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said that, “While I accept the explanation of Malacañang that he was tired and needed rest, the 4-day absence was a concern considering the current situation.”
“Having said that, if the President has a medical condition preventing him from fulfilling his duties as commander in chief and is not simply ‘just resting’ then the public deserves to know the truth,” he added.
Also on the same day, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said “the health of the president of any country is not his or his family’s private affair alone. It is a matter of public concern.”
Thus, Malacañang should “disclose the current state of health of the President if only to quell any speculation about his health. The public deserves nothing less,” the senator said.
Last Thursday, detained Sen. Leila de Lima said that, “Until transparency and accountability become real in this administration, and not mere by-words spouted senselessly, rumors about the President’s condition will continue to abound.”
“We do not need this at a time when the AFP is waging a war against terrorists in Marawi,” she said.
“The public needs to be fully informed. Knowing the truth about the President’s state of health is both a matter of public interest and national security,” added De Lima.
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