Binay shoots down ill-health rumors

In the pink: Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE

Vice President Jejomar Binay said that he was in the pink of health despite rumors circulating that he was suffering from various diseases.

Binay said he was exercising daily to maintain good health.

“Nag-e-exercise ako. Kung maaari, limang beses akong nag-e-exercise (sa isang linggo). Alam mo ba yung nakakasama ko, mas pagod na pagod yun. In short, okay ako,” Binay said in an interview aired over Radyo Inquirer 990 AM on Tuesday.

(I exercise. If possible, I exercise five times a week. My companions are more tired than me. In short, I’m okay.)

He said naysayers had since stopped questioning his health after seeing him meeting with various stakeholders in provinces.

To those doubting his health, Binay dared them to join him in his exercise routines.

“Tila ata tumigil na yung mga nagsasabi na may sakit ako. Hamon ko sa kanila, sumama kayo sa akin kapag ako ay nage-exercise,” the vice president said.

(It seems those who say that I am sick have stopped talking. I dare them to join me when I exercise.)

Binay, now 72, will run for president in the 2016 elections.

If elected, he would become the oldest person to elected to the highest office of the country, trouncing the record of former President Sergio Osmena, who became Philippine president at 65 in 1944.

In an interview last May, Binay’s daughter Makati City Representative Abigail Binay said that only a health issue, and not the corruption allegations lodged against their family, could stop her father from seeking the presidency.

In 2013, Binay dispelled rumors that he was suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and diabetes.