MANILA – They should just hang themselves.
Malacañang sent a terse message to anyone who spreads false information on President Rodrigo Duterte’s health.
“Ang suhestyon ko sa kanila, magbigti na lang po silang lahat, dahil hindi po mangyayari iyong gusto nila,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said on Wednesday.
Communist Party of the Philippines founder Joma Sison earlier claimed that Duterte has slipped into coma, citing the latter’s darkening skin and unstable walk during a Lex Talionis event on Aug. 18.
“Masigla po ang Presidente. Ang Presidente po ay abogado. Kung meron siyang matinding karamdaman, susunod po siya sa Saligang Batas, doon po siya magbibigay ng impormasyon tungkol sa kanyang kalusugan,” Roque said.
“Pero nakita naman po natin na imposible po na meron siyang seryosong karamdaman dahil normal na normal po ang asta kahapon ng ating Presidente,” he added.
Duterte appeared at a gathering of mayors from Visayas in Cebu City on Tuesday.
In his speech, the President criticized Sison, his former teacher, for the latter’s allegation on his health.
“Let me just also disabuse the mind of Sison. You know, his mind is really abused by himself,” Duterte said.
Duterte’s daughter, Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, also frowned upon Sison’s claim.
Duterte-Carpio recalled that, years ago, Sison sent her chocolates with a note.
“It was a surprise because I did not think he knew me then,” the presidential daughter said on Tuesday. “Nevertheless, the message was rational and pleasant.”
But what the National Democratic Front of the Philippines chief political consultant’s recent Facebook post saying the President was dying was “not rational,” stressed Duterte-Carpio.
“Those who saw him reported that the darkness of his face had become aggravated from its appearance the other day and that his walk and handshake had become more unstable,” Sison said in a post accompanied by a photo of Duterte during a Lex Talionis event on Aug. 18.
Sison or his caretaker would soon claim that “[President Duterte] is not human but an alien in the form of Rodrigo Duterte,” the mayor quipped.
For his part Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go said it is up to Duterte whether or not he releases a medical bulletin pertaining to his physical condition.
“I cannot speak on behalf of the President. Pero I assure you that he is in tip-top condition. Ako mismo ay … witness naman po palagi sa mga ganap,” Go said./PN
