President Rodrigo Duterte is not obliged to give in to the demands of anyone, Malacañang said Friday.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the remark following Duterte’s challenge to opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to take an intelligence quotient test after the President belittled his intellect.
“Perhaps he should begin with the test on sanity before we even talk about IQ,” Roque said.
He said Trillanes should undergo psychological testing as the IQ test was “premature.”
In other developments:
• Two opposition lawmakers said Tuesday the state of health of Duterte was a serious matter and “a matter of public interest.”
“Joking about your state of health is not fair to the Filipino public you serve,” Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said.
“It is a serious matter that requires a clear and straightforward answer to allay the worries of the public.”
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tom Villarin said the President’s state of health “is a major cause of concern and worry for Filipinos.”
“President Duterte himself admitted that he is in eternal pain and thus the country is painfully suffering with him,” Villarin said.
“While he may dismiss this as a normal state of health, it is a major cause of concern and worry to Filipinos.”
But an administration ally, Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting, said he believed Duterte was in the pink of health.
• Following the recent statements of Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison calling President Rodrigo Duterte “the number 1 enemy of the Philippine state,” the Palace said Sison’s latest pronouncements were part of his delusions.
“That’s part of the delusions of Joma Sison. It cannot be anything other than delusion,” Roque told reporters.
“He is ten thousand miles away—how would he know what’s in the mind of our senior military officials? Dream on, Joma Sison.”
Roque earlier said Trillanes’ challenge does not contribute to the debate on public issues.
“His statements do not have additional contribution with the debate on public issues,” Roque said in a radio interview.
“Let him be, maybe he just needs attention.”
During the National Heroes’ Day rites on Monday, Duterte questioned Trillanes’ intelligence and character, wondering how he survived the Philippine Military Academy.
Trillanes, however, took to Twitter and responded with a challenge.
“Just to settle the matter, I am challenging Duterte to an IQ test. Even if he gets a plus 10,” he said.
Trillanes, a critic of the Duterte administration, said he would resign if Duterte scored higher than him.
