MANILA, Philippines — Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, erstwhile aide of President Rodrigo Duterte, posted a photo on Monday of his former boss to debunk “fake news” that the latter was airlifted from Davao City to Singapore over the weekend for an emergency treatment.
In the photo Go posted on Facebook, Duterte was seen eating with his partner Honeylet Avanceña, who was holding today’s newspaper, together with their child, Kitty and another child.
“Sa mga nagpapakalat ng fake news, makonsensya naman kayo. Ang Pangulo ay nasa Pilipinas lamang at handang mag serbisyo sa kapwa Pilipino,” Go said in the post.
LOOK: Senator Bong Go posts a photo of President Duterte with his family in Davao City following claims that the President went to Singapore over the weekend for emergency treatment. (📸 Sen. Go) @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/YaOqVqrj1t
— Darryl John Esguerra (@DJEsguerraINQ) August 17, 2020
In a press briefing earlier, Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque said the President is “fine” and the public need not be concerned.
“Fake news po ang pag-alis ng Pilipinas ng ating Presidente,” Roque said.
“Nananatili po siya sa Davao, hindi po siya umaalis ng Pilipinas,’ he added.
Duterte has been in his hometown Davao City since August 3.
He is scheduled to meet with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) in Davao City on Monday evening to decide on the fate of the coronavirus lockdown in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces. He will address the nation afterward.
Duterte’s state of health has been a recurring issue in his presidency given his advanced age.
The 75-year-old President has admitted publicly that he has, among other things, Buerger’s disease and Barrett’s esophagus, and that had been experiencing occasional headaches and has spinal issues which he attributes to a motorcycle accident when he was 68 years old.
He has also revealed to taking sleeping pills and the highly addictive Fentanyl and to having myasthenia gravis —an autoimmune disease that destroys muscle receptors and can result in the drooping of eyelids, or overall weakness.