Image from the Supreme Court Twitter account
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling to dismiss the petition compelling President Rodrigo Duterte to disclose his health records.
In a statement, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the petition had no legal basis and was only meant to tear down the public’s confidence in the President’s leadership.
“We note the latest decision of the Supreme Court dismissing the petition to disclose the President’s health records,” Roque said.
“We maintain that the petition has no legal and factual bases. We believe it is designed to distract the President from his job and erode the confidence of the Filipinos to PRRD’s (Duterte’s initials) leadership particularly in this time when we are confronted with an extreme health crisis,” he added.
Roque added the President continues to monitor and give orders as the country grapples to address the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Moving forward, President Duterte continues to attend to the affairs of the State as he monitors developments in the country, particularly the COVID-19 situation, and gives instructions to his Cabinet members on various efforts to fight this global health scare,” Roque said.
Duterte’s chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo, meanwhile, assured the President will voluntarily disclose his to the public should he experience any serious illnesses.
“Yes, with the SC decision, it should put to rest any doubt on the President’s fitness to govern the country. Moreover, any citizen need not go to the SC to compel the President to show his state of health if he is suffering from a serious illness. He is a very transparent President, he tells us what ails him if he feels unwell,” Panelo said in a message to reporters.
Lawyer Dino De Leon earlier asked the higher court to compel the release of the President’s medical records including his psychological or psychiatric examination results since he assumed office.