State of health and wealth

The most noticeable and outstanding change under the present administration are the thick clouds hovering over the entire country which keep all of us in the dark. And going into the third year of the President’s term, it seems that the clouds will continue to linger and get thicker. And so people are expecting more darkness in our land as if we are going through a tunnel with no end in sight of the light.

Obviously, the present atmosphere is due to the lack of complete transparency on the part of this government particularly the President himself. Since he assumed office and for more than two years now, he has not been open and candid enough as to clear up doubts on his state of wealth and his state of health.

He must be reminded that the office he is presently occupying is a public office that the Constitution itself considers as a public trust. So, he “must at all times be accountable to the people and serve them with utmost ….integrity and loyalty…” (Section 1, Article XI). In other words, he must be honest, upright and trustworthy.

The latest item that has arisen once again is Duterte’s state of health. This topic has become hotter now in view of the recent “news” coming all the way from Netherlands released by exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chair Jose Ma. Sison. He said that Duterte is already “comatose.” And this triggered once more so many speculations that immediately prompted Duterte’s aide, Bong Go, to air a video showing that he is not really in a “coma” but only resting in a kama.”

This latest video however did not erase all doubts and speculations about Duterte’s real state of health. From the looks of it he is not really as fit and strong as any other man of his age with a clean bill of health. There are so many features in his physical appearance which show that something is wrong with him. Certain parts of his face do not reflect the normal color of his skin indicating signs of ill health.  In fact, he recently admitted that he is in “perpetual pain” although not seriously ill. For some time now, it is of public knowledge that he is taking a medicine known as “fentanyl” which reportedly contains elements of prohibited drugs. 

To erase all doubts and for the sake of public interest therefore, he should undergo a thorough medical examination and publicize its results. It is true that under Section 12, Article VII of the Constitution, it is only in case of serious illness which is a matter of national concern, when the public shall be informed about his state of health. Nevertheless he is holding the highest public office in the land that is a public trust as provided in Section 1, Article XI of the Charter. Hence he should still publicize his medical record to inform the people of his real state of health. His adamant refusal to do so merely creates the impression that he is indeed seriously ill.

And this is the same public impression as to his state of wealth including that of his family. Since he assumed office, questions have already surfaced about the accuracy of  the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net-worth (SALN) he filed. Several times he has been requested and dared to sign a bank waiver on the secrecy of his bank deposits which are reportedly in billions of pesos so as to prove that the amounts he declared in his SALN are true and correct. But up to now, he has refused and still refuses to do so. Such stance all the more show and even confirm that he is hiding something and that the reports on the billion pesos transactions in his bank deposits are accurate. 

And this public perception also applies to members of his family particularly to his son, Paolo Duterte, the resigned Vice Mayor of Davao City who has been implicated in the surreptitious and illegal importation of P6.5 billion worth of shabu from China. It is really so suspicious how that huge amount of importation of illegal drugs could slip past the tight and close examination of the Bureau of Customs without the intervention and assistance of powerful and influential people in the government. It is true that in this case, then Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon himself has been fired, but up to now no charges have been reportedly filed against him. And even if there are charges already filed, they remained in limbo and have not been heard and tried up to now. It would thus appear Faeldon has been used as symbolic sacrificial lamb simply to keep his mouth shut regarding this fiasco.

In order to clear the thick clouds of doubt now hovering especially around Malacanang, Duterte and his family should come out with concrete evidence showing that all these suspicions of hidden wealth and whiff of corruption shadowing him and some members of his family are not indeed true. He should also prove the true state of his health with documents issued by medical experts. Bare denials by word of mouth alone, even if under oath, are not sufficient for this purpose. As the highest person holding public office that is a public trust he must clearly and convincingly prove to the people that the ongoing suspicions and speculations about his state of wealth and state of health are not true. And he should do this ASAP.

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