Palace on 'absent' Duterte: Don’t you ever rest?

MANILA, Philippines — Don’t you ever rest?

 

This was Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella’s reaction when asked anew by the media Thursday about the health condition of President Duterte, who has not been seen in public since Monday.

 

“I’m saying that there is nothing to worry about in terms of sickness, major sickness,” Abella said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

 

“But what I’m saying is that considering the… Considering the schedule that he has given, he needs to rest. You do need to rest don’t you?” he added.

 

While Abella claimed that the president is spending private time and resting, Duterte’s long-time aide Christopher Go released a photo of the chief executive doing paperwork.

 

Amid speculations about his health, Pres. Duterte seen in photos at Bahay Pagbabago just released by Sec. Bong Go. | via @alexisbromero pic.twitter.com/fwPn16CZDS

— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) June 15, 2017

 

Go said the photo was taken a few minutes before 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Bahay Pagbabago in Malacañang Park.

 

He also released a photo of him with the president, who was wearing a black polo shirt. A television tuned in to the ABS-CBN News Channel can be seen in the background. The news station was reporting about the Grenfell Tower fire in London when the photo was taken.

 

Later Thursday night, the Presidential Communications Operations Office also released photos of the president at the Villamor Air Base that it said were taken earlier in the day.

 

Another batch of photos of Pres. Duterte. Taken at the Villamor Air Base today. Photos released by PCOO Asec. Bam Garcia @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/aBo8D5Gq7F

— Rosette Adel (@rosette_adel) June 15, 2017

 

Malacañang’s announcement that the president is spending private time has fueled speculations about the state of his health. There were even rumors that Duterte was brought to a hospital in Metro Manila but officials denied this.

 

“Tired. He’s just tired. Like I said, he has been on the road for about 23 days,” Abella said.

 

“After all, you have to consider that he has been on the road for at least 23 days regarding – fulfilling his martial law supervision. So, you know, it has been really brutal so we have to allow him this kind of rest,” he added.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said the 72-year old Duterte is “as strong as a bull.” Panelo said Duterte sounded “upbeat” when he spoke with him Wednesday night.

 

“Last night (May 14), I was talking to him and he sounded very strong and upbeat. So I think he’s strong as a bull and could be sleepy as a night owl. Why? Because he’s been visiting and doing the rounds of soldier casualties,” Panelo said in a separate interview with reporters.

 

“Many have died so there’s so many to visit. During Independence Day, he really lacked sleep. I understand he came home around 6 o’ clock in the morning. He was really tired,” he added.

 

Duterte skipped the Independence Day ceremonies in Manila last Monday to get some rest, according to officials. He has not had any public engagement since then.

 

Panelo said Duterte had told him that he was very busy but did not elaborate. 

 

“When I was talking to him, I did not ask (what he was doing). I did not ask him. He just said I am very busy now. There are many problems in Mindanao.’ That’s what he told me,” Panelo said, referring to the Marawi crisis.

 

Panelo said the phone call took place at about 7 p.m.

 

“He sounds upbeat and he sounded natural. In fact, he was laughing because I was relaying a story that made him laugh,” the president’s chief legal adviser said.

 

Panelo dismissed as a “wild speculation” claims that the president is sick.

 

“Let me disappoint those who may think that he’s sick and may want him sick. He’s not. Definitely,” he said.

 

Officials could not say through when the president’s next public engagement would be.

 

“Well, you know, he’s taking some time off so I cannot really give you the definite date. But he’s just taking some time off to rejuvenate,” Abella said.

 

Asked to react to lawmakers call for regular updates on Duterte’s health, Abella said: “Well, it’s usually given, for example, like this in press briefings, we usually give you that.”

 

Abella said the President may visit evacuees in Marawi City “as soon as he can fit it in to his schedules.”