SPECIAL Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Monday, October 8, assured that President Rodrigo Duterte has not been diagnosed with any serious illness.
Amid persistent speculations about Duterte's health condition, Go assured the public that the President was not sick.
"Sa Constitution, [if] may serious illness ang presidente, kailangang i-divulge. Eh wala namang serious illness ang Pangulo. Wala ngang sakit e (Under the Constitution, it must be divulged if the President has serious illness. But he is not sick)," Go said.
"So sa mga bumabatikos sa kanya, yung sakit niya, wala talagang mahanap (To his critics, the President is not suffering from serious illness),"
Go repeated his claim at the sidelines of the launching of the Malasakit Center at the Jose B. Lingad Regional Memorial Hospital in Pampanga.
He said the President is in “tip-top” shape.
“We are already asking critics to help us find the illness of the President because we are really looking hard for any possible illness just to confirm their allegations but we cannot really find any,” Go said in jest.
Go on Saturday posted photos of the 73-year-old President, together with his common-law partner Honeylet Avanceña and their daughter Veronica "Kitty," in Hong Kong for a "much-needed" rest.
Along with the photos, Go posted on Facebook: "Bago maunahan ng ng mga fake news, kailangan din magpahinga ng Pangulo (Before fake news breaks out, the President needs some rest.)"
The President took a "private" and "unplanned" visit to Hong Kong to get some rest from his usual hectic schedule, as well as to bond with his youngest daughter Veronica, Go said.
"Wala naman talagang nakakaalam sa trip sa Hong Kong. Private talaga 'yun at biglaan (No one really knew about his trip to Hong Kong. It was private and unplanned)," Go told Palace reporters in a phone-patch interview.
"Tao rin naman si Pangulo. Kailangan rin niyang magpahinga. Kita niyo, sa sobrang trabaho niya, much-needed rest po 'yung pinunta niya roon. Saka 'yung bonding niya with his daughter na namimiss na niya, na hindi niya nagagawa for the past two and a half years," he added.
(The President is human too. He needs to rest. Because of his overwhelming workload, he went there for a much-needed rest. And he's also missing his bonding with his daughter, which he has not been able to do for the past two and a half years.)
Go was with the President in the sudden overseas trip, which happened two days after Duterte admitted having gone to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, Manila on October 3 for a repeat endoscopy and colonoscopy.
On October 5, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. bared that Duterte had repeat endoscopy to check a possible "growth" in the Chief Executive's digestive tract.
In Pampanga, Go described the hospital procedures conducted on the President Duterte as “usual routines of an aging man to maintain his health status.”
He, however, declined to disclose the results, saying he was not privy and was not authorized by Duterte to discuss the matter publicly.
“What I can say is that President Duterte does not have any terminal illness and will be able to finish his term in 2022 and live beyond that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Go said that the newly-opened Malasakit Center in the province, which is the 10th in the country and third in Luzon, is a one-stop shop program of the President to hasten the delivery of medical services and give poor patients access to free medicines.
Go said the establishment of the health center was a fulfilment of his commitment to Governor Lilia Pineda and Kapampangans during his recent visit in Pampanga to put up a Malasakit Center for the benefit of the locals.
Under the program, patients are able to avail of financial assistance from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Department of Health, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.