President Rodrigo Duterte should fully disclose the state of his health because the “public has the right to know,” ACT-Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said on Monday.
“To end all speculation on this matter, Malacañang should make a full disclosure on the President’s state of health. The public has the right to know,” Tinio said in a statement.
The opposition lawmaker’s remark came after reports claimed that Duterte fell ill last Saturday night when he attended the national convention of his fraternity, Lex Talionis Fraternitas, in Davao City.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go both denied this.
READ: Duterte not ill, says Roque | Duterte in ‘kama’ not ‘coma’ – Bong Go
In a Facebook post, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Chief Political Consultant and Communist Party of the Philippines founder Joma Sison wrote that “Duterte has gone into a coma (comatose) since the afternoon or evening of today, Sunday.” Sison cited a “latest report” which he did not identify.
When asked about the rumors during a press briefing, Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Prospero Pichay, Jr. said Sison “must have dreamt last night.”
Although he admitted that the President is mandated to inform the public of the state of his health in case of serious illness, Pichay maintained that “the President should not even discuss those things.”
“Yeah (even if) the Constitution says. So if there’s nothing to discuss about his health, what is there to discuss?” he said.
Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Winston Castelo agreed with Pichay saying Sison must have been “talking about a different President.”
Pichay and Castelo are both allies of Duterte.
Article VII Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution states that “In case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health.”
It adds that the members of the Cabinet in charge of national security and foreign relations and the chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines “shall not be denied access to the President during such illness.” /je