President Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go pose for posterity in a car going to the Haneda International Airport following the President’s attendance to the Ceremonies of the Accession to the Throne of His Majesty Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace on October 22, 2019. (Photo by King Rodriguez / Presidential Photographers)
Updated @ 2:27 a.m., Oct. 24, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — There’s no need to worry about President Rodrigo Duterte’s health as the back pain he felt during his visit to Japan was only due to “muscle spasms,” Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, former presidential aide, told reporters at the Senate on Wednesday.
“He’s OK. No need to worry because that was just muscle spasms,” Go, speaking partly in Filipino said.
He added that, on Tuesday night, right after arriving from Japan, he and the President even went straight to the wake of former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel.
The President cut short his trip to Japan “due to unbearable pain in his spinal column” days after he had a minor motorcycle mishap.
READ: BREAKING: Duterte to clip Japan trip ‘due to unbearable pain’ from motorbike accident
From Pimentel’s wake, the President immediately consulted his doctors and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, Go said.
According to Go, the neurosurgeons who checked on the President told him there was nothing to worry about as it was “purely muscle spasms.”
The doctors then gave the President pain relief medication and advised him to rest for the next couple of days.
Go said the President would push through with his scheduled activities, which includes a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, who is on an official visit to the Philippines.
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“The President will meet with him. You know the President, even if he’s in pain, he will stand up and work. He has a high pain tolerance,” Go said.
Go denied claims circulating online that the President and his staff were not given proper treatment in Japan, which was the reason for cutting the trip short.
“There’s no truth [to that],” Go said. “All the leaders were given equal attention, and knowing the President, he is not self-important. He would rather stay out of the limelight and observe others.”
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