Marcos feeling ‘under the weather’ after birthday celebration – Herbosa

President Marcos Jr. is feeling “under the weather,” said DOH Sec. Herbosa on Tuesday. PHOTO FROM PCO

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is feeling “under the weather,” according to Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Tuesday.

Herbosa made the pronouncement as Marcos was seen wearing a face mask during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday morning.

“He just said he’s under the weather so I suppose it was his birthday last week, so ang daming bumati sa kanya (so there were plenty of people who greeted him). I’m sure someone passed him a bad bug,” Herbosa said in a Palace briefing.

READ: Marcos denies he is ill: ‘Do I look sick?’

Marcos celebrated his 67th birthday last Friday, Sept. 13.

However, in a separate statement the same day, Herbosa suddenly backtracked.

This time, opposite to what he previously indicated, Herbosa now claims Marcos was not “under the weather” as he was able to perform all his duties for the day.

“I was with the President the whole day as he conducted two meetings in the morning. I only saw him wear a face mask after the meeting and in a casual conversation with one of the secretaries after the meeting. I also saw him later in two other meetings where he delivered a speech and conducted a meeting without use of a face mask,” said Herbosa.

“We should not be hastily concluding any diagnosis for anyone who wants to wear a face mask. From my perspective as a physician, the President performed all his duties today and is well and not ‘under the weather’ as earlier surmised,” he added.

Meanwhile, Press Secretary Cesar Chavez said Marcos was “okay,” and that he was able to attend his scheduled activities for the day.

“I attended three of his scheduled activities today. Okay naman ang Pangulo natin (our President is okay),” Chavez told Malacañang reporters in a Viber message.

“Halos sunod-sunod ang events niya ngayon,” he added.

(His events were held almost consecutively today.)

READ: SWS: Marcos admin satisfaction rating ‘good’, went up 11 points