Duterte in “excellent health” but he “also needs rest”: Abella

June 13, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte is in "excellent health," but he has to take a rest, Malacanang said on Tuesday. Duterte skipped the Independence Day rites on Monday at Rizal Park, raising concern on his true state of health. Duterte had no official schedule on Tuesday. "The President is actually in excellent health, except for the fact that his schedule had been brutal. I mean, you have to credit the President, considering everything, that he has been actually honoring the military dead, the civilian dead, and he has been actually going around," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a press briefing. He said Duterte would have wanted to attend the Independence Day rites, which include the symbolic raising of the flag and honoring of the dead. "However, the fact is he was already doing it for the rest of the week. So I think we need to allow him a few rest. He was actually on top of the situation, however, he was --- he also needed rest," he explained. For the past weeks, Duterte has been visiting different military camps to boost the morale of the soldiers who have been fighting the Islamic State-inspired Maute Terrorist Group in Marawi City, and visiting the wounded soldiers and the wake of the slain government troopers. Asked if the president already received medical advice, Abella said, "frankly you don’t need medical advice in order to tell you that you should rest. Your body tells you that, you know. So but anyway, having said that, he is resting these days." The Constitution provides that in case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health. (Celerina Monte/DMS)