Dolphy’s condition slightly improves

MANILA (2nd Update, 12:53 p.m.) -- The condition of Philippine King of Comedy Dolphy has slightly improved after undergoing dialysis Thursday afternoon, his son and film director Eric Quizon said.

Dolphy (Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. in real life) was rushed to the Makati Medical Center last June 9 due to pneumonia. He was diagnosed five years ago of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which, according to Eric, is a progressive disease.

COPD, according to doctors, is caused by excessive smoking, leading to a limitation of the flow of air to and from the lungs, and thus causes shortness of breath. The doctors added that since COPD hinders the flow of air into the lungs, kidneys are also affected as these organs needed supply of oxygen, as in the case of the Comedy King.

Eric said the dialysis will help support the kidneys of his dad. “It lessens the excess body fluids na nasa katawan ng daddy, at the same time, nawawala ang mga toxins,” he said.

“The reason why the option of dialysis was offered to us and the reason why we opted for dialysis is because overnight, his vitals became stable. That was the longest time that his vitals were stable. But like I said, his condition still fluctuates,” he added.

On Thursday morning, Eric said his father's kidneys were still weak, but these “have already released urine.” “Very little, but somehow they (kidneys) are working,” he said in a television interview.

The film director also said his father is “still positive for hemorrhaging” due to a “very low platelet count.”

“May bleeding sa loob at inaalam namin saan galing ang bleeding. But, of course, we’re all hoping at naniniwala kami sa power of prayers,” he said.

However, he said their family was in joy after they caught the Comedy King opening his eyes Thursday.

“Ang maganda dito kasi, somehow nagmulat siya ng kanyang mata at tumingin siya sa paligid. Natuwa ang mga kapatid ko, kaming lahat, kasi alam namin na nadidinig niya kami. May konting kasiyahan dahil kumbaga nagkaroon ng opportunity ang ilang mga kapatid namin na makita siya na nagmulat ang mata and somehow really trying to communicate,” he said.

He thanked all those who offered their prayers for his father’s speedy recovery.

National artist

Meanwhile, the clamor for the Comedy King to be named as national artist continues as he remains in critical condition at the Makati Medical Center.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino III recognizes the contribution of the comedian in the movie industry but he could not name the 83-year-old actor as national artist due to the existing temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Malacañang from conferring the Order of National Artists award.

“I spoke to the President this morning, and he personally believes that Dolphy has contributed immensely to the arts. And in fact, in his words, he has contributed tremendously to what we call ‘art for man’s sake,’” Lacierda said.

“Having said that, there is a process in selecting the national artist. Right now, there is an ongoing case before the Supreme Court (SC) and I understand there is a status quo or a TRO that is pending before the Supreme Court,” he added.

In 2009, the SC issued a TRO stopping Malacañang from conferring national artist awards to director Carlo J. Caparas, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, Francisco Mañosa, and Jose “Pitoy” Moreno.

The petition was filed by a group of national artists led by Bienvenido Lumbera and Virgilio Almario, accusing former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of committing “grave abuse of discretion” for adding the four names to the final list of Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the National Commission on Cultural and the Arts (NCCA), the two agencies tasked to select those who will be conferred with the national artist award.

“We recognize the process and it is a very rigid process. There are several tiers in nominating a national artist. We would like to respect the process. So we will leave it with both the NCCA and the CCP because these are the two joint boards who will nominate the national artist,” Lacierda asid.

He noted that in recognition of the comedian’s contribution to the field of entertainment, President Aquino awarded the veteran actor the Grand Collar of the Order of the Golden Heart.

Senator Pia Cayetano joined colleagues Senators Gregorio Honasan II and Manny Villar in pushing the government to confer the national artist title to the ailing Dolphy.

“Two weeks ago, when we honored (the late painter) Anita Magsaysay-Ho and then National Artist Felipe De Leon, the composer of music, Senator (Joker) Arroyo made a comment that ‘Why are they getting late citations?’ So I think everyone knows he (Dolphy) deserves it. But of course, it is always nice to have an official recognition,” she told reporters.

Before departing for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night, Vice President Jejomar Binay also said the award will be a fitting gesture to Dolphy, whose body of work spans over six decades.

“Dolphy is an integral part of Philippine entertainment. He was instrumental in the transition of entertainment from the zarzuela to the silver screen, and as such deserves to be conferred the highest accolade that our nation can give artists of his caliber,” he said. (Jill Beltran/Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)