PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is not required to release medical bulletins on his health, Malacañang said on Monday, December 3.
Speaking to Palace reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo reiterated that there is no need for medical bulletins about Duterte's health, since the 73-year-old President remains in good condition.
He stressed that Duterte would only disclose the state of his health, in case of "serious illness."
"The question was whether or not the President should issue a medical bulletin in case of serious illness, the President agrees with that," the Panelo said.
"That is why he informed us of what happened to the medical examination. I don't think there's a question of that," he added, referring to the earlier results of Duterte's endoscopy.
Panelo's remarks came after four senatorial candidates, who are Duterte's allies, agreed in a televised forum that the President needs to issue medical bulletins, in case of serious illness.
The four senatorial aspirants who voted "yes," when asked if the President should authorize medical bulletins about his health were former Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald dela Rosa, former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino, incumbent Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito, and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile.
Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution mandates the president to inform the public about his health, "in case of serious illness."
On September 21, Duterte admitted that he had undergone colonoscopy and endoscopy to check his health status, since he was previously diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus, a condition in which the esophagus changes.
Endoscopy is a nonsurgical procedure to examine a person's digestive tract, while colonoscopy is a procedure that checks the possible abnormalities in the large intestine and rectum.
On October 4, Duterte admitted that he had repeated his endoscopy and colonoscopy to check if his Barrett's esophagus condition turned worse and developed into cancer.
A day after Duterte's admission, Malacañang announced that the President had to monitor the "growth" in his digestive tract.
Duterte, however, declared on October 9 that he tested negative for cancer, based on the results of his medical tests. (VoxPop Philippines)
