EDITORIAL - Let’s hear from the president

The long absence of President Rodrigo Duterte from the public eye has raised speculations about this health, especially now that the number of COVID-19 cases are still rising and especially following reports that many of his close-in security and some Cabinet members recently got infected with the coronavirus.

The fact that he has not been vaccinated until now, despite the fact that he really needs to be, is only fanning the flames of the wildest of speculations. It also doesn’t help at all that his last public appearance was last month yet.

To allay fears, Senator Christoper “Bong” Go recently released a photo of himself with the president. But while some were assured by Go’s actions, many people still have their doubts. Photos can be faked and manipulated after all; it is so easy to do this nowadays.

Why should we be concerned? The health of the president is always a matter of public interest. While not all may like him or how he and his handpicked people are managing this pandemic crisis, this doesn’t change the fact that he is still the leader of a nation of 110 million people. The decisions that he makes still impact a lot of lives.

And considering the pandemic going on that is wreaking havoc on our health system as well as our economy, people need to know that there is still someone in charge; if not for the sake of continuity of government then just to prevent possible unrest.

While others insist that the president should be out and about in public to allay fears about his health and medical condition, and to show he is indeed on top of things, we say he really shouldn’t go that far.

He is, after all, a man who just celebrated his 76th birthday last week. He should not be risking his health unnecessarily. A live public address televised nationwide from wherever he is right now should go a long way to calm nerves and lay doubts to rest.