By Fernan Angeles
MALACAÑANG stood firm on their claim that the President Rodrigo Duterte does not have cancer – and in the event he develops one, he’d publicly make an announcement about it.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that if ever he is diagnosed with a serious illness, the President is aware on the constitutional provision compelling him to divulge it.
Roque went as far as accusing people “putting too much meaning” into remarks made by the President on Monday, August 24, 2020, when he recounted his doctor’s warning that he should stop drinking because his Barrett’s esophagus was nearing stage 1 cancer.
The 75-year-old President, Roque said, received the advice from the doctor a long time ago, even before he became president and that he heeded it and stopped drinking.
“Rephrasing what the President said, he almost had cancer if he did not stop drinking, but he has since stopped drinking,” Roque said.
“As far as I know, there is no cancer, and as I said, if there is cancer and it is a serious illness, he will be reporting it to the people,” he added.
Roque said that if Duterte had stage 1 cancer and was getting treatment for it, there would have been adverse effects on his physical appearance.
Treatments like chemotherapy lead to hair loss and general weakening, “a condition you don’t really see in the President,” he said. “He is fit and healthy for a person of his age.”
As far as the possible growth found in the President’s digestive tract after a 2018 endoscopy, Roque, who is not even a doctor, said: “Whatever it is, it could not have been cancerous.”
Further, Roque said people do not have to worry about lack of transparency on the part of the Chief Executive. “I am a lawyer myself, the President is a lawyer. We will comply with the constitutional provision. If there is a serious illness, the people will know, he will not hide it,” Roque said, when asked if there was a need to issue a medical bulletin on Mr. Duterte’s health.
The Constitution states that in case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health. The Cabinet members in charge of security and foreign relations as well as the military chief of staff shall not be denied access to the President during the illness.
Aside from his Barrett’s esophagus, Duterte has also revealed that he has Buerger’s disease, which affects blood vessels in the body, and myasthenia gravis, a disease that causes muscle weakness and fatigue.