Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s aides yesterday denied rumours that the 74-year-old leader had been rushed to hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.
“There is no truth to the rumour circulating that President Rodrigo Duterte is confined in Cardinal Santos Medical Center,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
“The president is in his residence at the (Malacanang presidential) palace, signing papers,” he added.
Panelo said that when he talked to Duterte, the leader was “neither confirming nor denying that he went to hospital.”
“We can assure you that the president is well and good,” said Zeerah Blanche Lucrecia, a spokeswoman for the presidential security group.
A nationwide survey last December showed that 66% of Filipinos were worried about Duterte’s health. Duterte has been dogged by rumours about his health since he became president in 2016.
Critics have been calling for his administration to issue regular medical bulletins, but he said there was no need for that.
Last year, he faced a cancer scare after doctors found a growth in his digestive tract but cancer tests produced negative results.
President Rodrigo Duterte and his former top aide, Christopher Lawrence Go, share a meal yesterday as rumours swirled that the chief executive was taken to a hospital after suffering a heart attack.
