Duterte coughs in mid-speech and jokes: ‘Baka cancer’

MANILA, Philippines —President Rodrigo Duterte apologized on Thursday for coughing in the middle of his address, joking that his coughs “could be cancer.”

“Pasensya na kayo. I don’t know, but ‘yung pag-ubo ko, progressive. Baka cancer, ang p…,” he said in his speech during the joint meeting of the National Task Force and Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Eastern Visayas.

(I’m sorry. I don’t know, but my coughs are progressive. Maybe it’s cancer.)

His audience only laughed after his quip.

Given his advanced age, Duterte’s health has been a recurrent issue throughout his administration, leading a lawyer to petition the Supreme Court to require the release of the President’s medical records.

READ: Lawyer revives bid to compel disclosure of Duterte health records

READ: SC prodded to order full disclosure of Duterte’s health condition

In August last year, Duterte revealed that his Barrett’s esophagus was deteriorating, with his doctor advising him to watch his diet because it could progress to stage 1 cancer.

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Duterte’s health has been a recurring issue in 2019

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