MANILA – The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition seeking the public disclosure of President Rodrigo Duterte’s medical records.
In a special en banc session on Friday, 13 High Court justices have voted against the petition that was filed by lawyer Dino de Leon while two other magistrates have dissented.
Those who voted for the petitions dismissal were Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, Associate Justices Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Andres Reyes Jr., Alexander Gesmundo, Jose Reyes, Ramon Hernando, Rosmari Carandang, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Henri Jean Inting, Rodil Zalameda, Mario Lopez, Edgardo Santos and Samuel Gaerlan.
The two magistrates who dissented were Associate Justices Marvic Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.
De Leon filed a 42-page petition last month saying that “given the gravity of the illnesses openly acknowledged by the President, the public release of his medical bulletins becomes a ministerial duty upon request from any concerned citizen.”
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque welcomed the SC’s decision to dismiss the petition, which he said as only meant to tear down the public’s confidence in the President’s leadership.
“We note the latest decision of the Supreme Court dismissing the petition to disclose the President’s health records,” Roque said in a statement. “We maintain that the petition has no legal and factual bases.”
“We believe it is designed to distract the President from his job and erode the confidence of the Filipinos to PRRD’s leadership particularly in this time when we are confronted with an extreme health crisis,” he added.
President Duterte has previously admitted that he has several medical conditions, such as daily migraines, nausea, pain due to a spinal injury, Buerger’s disease or a disorder affecting blood vessels, and Barrett’s esophagus or a complication which causes heartburn or acid indigestion.
Duterte has also undergone a biopsy in 2018 wherein he tested negative for cancer./PN
