Duterte: Chewing gum eases up the pain in my spine ‘a bit’

President Rodrigo Duterte. (RENE LUMAWAG/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

President Rodrigo Duterte is letting the public in on a secret: he chews gum in public to ease the pain on his spinal cord.

“Bayaran mo lang ako chewing gum kasi it eases up the pain when I’m chewing. Nawawala ‘yung spinal ano ko. It eases a bit,” Duterte said in a speech during a Pagcor event at the Manila Hotel on Thursday.

He, however, did not elaborate what causes the pain on his spine.

During his first visit to China in October 2016 as President, Duterte was seen chewing a gum during a bilateral meeting with Chinese officials.

In December 2016, Mr. Duterte disclosed that he was taking cancer pills to relieve the unbearable pain in his spine.

He had earlier said the pain in his spine prompted him to take a pain killer called fentanyl but his physician warned him that he was already abusing the drug.            /kga