Presidential bets urged to reveal state of health

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo urged all presidential aspirants yesterday “to make a complete and unequivocal declaration of their health condition.”

“The public has the right to know the state of health of those aspiring for the presidency before they file their certificates of candidacy and go into the campaign,” he said.

“It is not enough that they reveal their program of government. They should also declare their physical and psychological fitness to lead the nation.” 

He was making the appeal in the wake of reports that some presidential wannabes are afflicted with certain illness, Castelo said.

Though the aspirants’ camps have denied the reports, the candidates themselves have not made a public denial, he added.

The health condition of presidential candidates is a serious issue that should not be set aside “because the presidency demands physical and psychological fitness,” Castelo said.

“We can’t leave the fate of the nation to a person who has health issues. Otherwise, the country will be hostage to the vagaries of his physical and mental state,” he said.

A clean bill of health should be a requirement for the presidency, Castelo said.

“Hence, every single detail of his or her physical and mental fitness for the job should have to be spelled out clearly,” he said.  

During martial law, there were reports that President Ferdinand Marcos was frequently sick and had difficulty leading the nation, but the public was not informed of the state of his health, Castelo said.

When the Marcoses fell in 1986, a dialysis machine, among other medical equipment, was reportedly found in Malacañang, he added.