Politics of health
At 73, matters concerning his health are expected to hound President Duterte from time to time. In fairness to Duterte, he is one president who, from the start, had always been open about the things that ail him. Of course, it is not clear how open he had actually been.
Were there matters that he had been willing to be open about? Or were there things he prefers to keep close to his chest. As the leader of a country, however, he is expected to disclose everything, his health being a matter of national concern. Recently, concerns about Duterte’s health have surfaced again.
Whatever it is there might be about Duterte’s health, and no matter how compelling it is for the nation to know the truth, it is still both sad and tragic how such a real issue has been coopted by his enemies to promote their own political interests. It does not take much to realize that it is the political opposition that is leading the charge here.
There is no palpable public clamor to know the truth about Duterte’s health even if the public does have such a right to know. Instead, the people who are making so much noise about the matter are the same old politicos you often see on television taking swipes at Duterte about anything under the sun.
And this is not helping the matter any. Whatever compulsion Duterte may have about making a clean breast on his health is instead driving him to clam up. And why not? All he sees are his political enemies making noise about his health. He cannot but see this as just another cheap political trick at his expense.
And it does not help that Duterte has never been comfortable with his vice president, Leni Robredo. If something happens to him, it is she who takes over. Duterte has made it clear he has nothing against Robredo personally, only that he does not think she has the qualities to be president.
Be that as it may, Duterte cannot escape the fact that health has always been part of the politics Filipinos play. Every Filipino politician who gets into some kind of trouble almost invariably resorts to some form of health excuse to avoid, or at least delay, facing the music.
Health as a political issue can therefore be played two ways. You hedge telling everything if you feel it only serves to promote the interests of your enemies. Or you claim health issues even in the absence of one if you feel it promotes your own interest. Politics aside, however, it is best for the larger interest to be appraised of a leader’s health.
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