Palace: At 75, Duterte’s physical health at 88%

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte’s physical health is at 88 percent, Malacañang said over the weekend, as it revealed that the 75-year-old Chief Executive has planned trips in Mindanao this week.

“Well, like any other 75-year-old, para naman pong nasa 88 po ang physical health ng ating Presidente (it seems that the physical health of our President is at 88 percent),” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. told dzBB last Friday.

“He (Duterte) is in Mindanao right now, he is working there and there are planned trips but for security reasons, I was prohibited from discussing his schedule,” he added.

Duterte has been in his hometown Davao City since July 3.

In his previous speeches, he had admitted to suffering from various illnesses including acute bronchitis, a migraine tied to a spinal injury he sustained in a motorcycle accident in the 1960s, Buerger’s disease and muscle spasms.

Officials, however, maintain that the President remains fit to perform his duties.

In an interview with reporters last year, Duterte rejected calls for him to release his medical bulletin, saying his partner would inform the public if he could no longer stand on his own.

Last May, the Supreme Court junked a petition seeking the disclosure of Duterte’s health records, saying the allegation that the President is seriously ill is “unsubstantiated.”

Speculations about Duterte’s health floated anew last week because of his seemingly frail appearance during his visit to military forces in Zamboanga City. Roque has claimed that the President’s appearance was not health-related but caused by an “emotional issue.”

In his press briefing last week, Roque said the President was really saddened by the shooting incident in Sulu that claimed the lives of four soldiers.