The intestine-related procedure done to President Rodrigo Duterte are nothing extraordinary, Malacañang said Monday, after the President admitted he has undergone colonoscopy and endoscopy.
“I think that’s routine. The President has said he regularly undergoes tests like that. So, that’s a routine, nothing extraordinary,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque in a Palace press briefing Monday.
Roque said Duterte’s hectic schedule of daily activities prove that he is, in fact, in good health.
“You have seen the President’s schedule. I can’t follow his schedule, most of you can’t even follow, too. So, I think, his hectic schedule is a testament that he does not have any illness,” said the Palace official, assuring the public that the President’s health examinations are nothing to worry about.
He said the President had no qualms about telling everyone because he thinks it was just a routine. Roque, however, insisted that Duterte will disclose his medical condition to the public if there’s a serious illness.
“Of course, the Constitution says so, but there’s no serious illness that has to be disclosed,” Roque said.
“The President is transparent. The man said so many times that he wants to leave his position, so he will not cling on if he’s dying or gravely ill.”
Last Friday, the President said that he underwent examinations on his digestive tract.
“I had my colonoscopy and endoscopy about a week ago. Joey did the procedure and he said I have a bad case of Barrett. He said, ‘if you’ll just stop drinking, you will live,” Duterte told doctors in a speech in Cebu City.
The President was referring to his gastroenterologist Dr. Joey Sollano of the University of Santo Tomas, saying he usually refers Sollano to friends and family members who have digestive problems.
“When somebody complains ‘my ass is aching,’ what comes to my mind is ‘you go to Sollano’,” he said.
In the field of medicine and surgery, endoscpy is a procedure used to examine a person’s digestive tract. A long, flexible tube, with a tiny camera, is inserted into a patient’s throat and esophagus to examine the esophagus, stomach, and the beginning of the small intestine.
A colonoscopy, meanwhile, is an exam used to detect changes or abnormalities in the large intestine (colon) and rectum.
Barrett’s esophagus, however, is a complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Despite undergoing such internal procedures, Duterte assured the public he remains in good health.
“Maybe God is sometimes kind. He builds your immunity system that good because some of them are [bad]. I’m 73, and they [immune systems] are still very good, still healthy, no problem,” Duterte said.