PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has withdrawn from public duties this week because he is tired and needs to “rejuvenate,” his spokesman said Thursday as government forces battled Islamist militants in the biggest crisis of his rule.
Duterte, 72, has not been seen in public since Sunday and missed a scheduled appearance the following day at annual Independence Day celebrations in Manila, sparking speculation about the state of his health.
“He’s just taking some time off to rejuvenate,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.
Abella said there was no date for when Duterte would resume his official duties, although he insisted the President was healthy.
“I’m saying that there’s nothing to worry about in terms of sickness,” he said.
“The President is well.”
Pressed by journalists to state whether Duterte had visited a doctor this week, Abella said:
“I’m not privy to those matters but I’m sure he’s checked with his own experts.”
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said Duterte could be back to accepting courtesy calls on Monday, June 19.
Panelo, who said he talked with Duterte Wednesday night, said the President was “f—ing strong.”
He said on rumors that he was sick.
“That is wild speculation,” he said. “Let me disappoint those who may think that he’s sick and may want him sick. He’s not. Definitely.”
Duterte was last seen in Cagayan de Oro City, visiting soldiers wounded in nearby fighting with Islamic State group-styled gunmen that is now on its fourth week.
Fifty-eight soldiers and police officers have died in the clashes in Marawi City, while at least 26 civilians have also been confirmed killed.
The militants remain holed up in pockets of Marawi alongside hundreds of trapped civilians being used as hostages or human shields.
Duterte imposed martial law over Marawi and the rest of Mindanao, home to 20-million people, on the day the fighting erupted to head off what he said was an attempt by IS to carve out its own territory there.
Abella said Duterte was taking time off because of a punishing schedule since then, which included regular visits to military camps and hospitals to support troops.
“It has been really brutal, so it is important to allow him this kind of rest,” Abella said.
Duterte had repeatedly denied during last year’s presidential election campaign that he suffered from cancer.
However, he said last December that he used to take fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, to ease the pain of a spinal injury that he suffered in motorcycle accidents many years earlier.
Duterte said then his doctor made him stop using it on learning he was “abusing the drug” by using more than the prescribed amount.
Duterte’s fentanyl comments attracted controversy as he has led a war on drugs in which thousands of addicts and users have been killed.
Two opposition lawmakers on Thursday demanded an explanation on President Duterte’s real health status as they took note of his “unusual” absence from public functions since Sunday.
Magdalo Party-List Rep. Gary Alejano said there must be something about the absence of the President from the public in the wake of the continued fighting in Marawi City.
Alejano said the President’s health was a matter of public interest and a “national security issue,” and Malacañang must tell the truth about it.
Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, echoed Alejano’s view.
“The President’s health is a national concern. Transparency is a must,” he said. With AFP and Maricel V. Cruz
