President Rodrigo Duterte said his medical tests showed he was “negative” for cancer even as he admitted that his Barrett’s esophagus worsened because he has been drinking brandy again of late.
“I am not cancerous. So do not be afraid to go near me. I won’t contaminate you,” Duterte said in an interview with reporters Tuesday evening.
“It’s not the colon. It’s my Barrett’s esophagus. It’s badly eroded because I was told to stop drinking years ago. But of late I returned to drinking. I don’t know–for one reason or another I just like to drink brandy now. Even if I’m alone, I take three shots before sleeping,” the President said.
He said samples of the “growth” were taken for endoscopy and colonoscopy when he went to Cardinal Santos for a second opinion.
“It’s negative. They had a suspicion [but it turned out negative],” he said.
“We can drink together now and I can give you a run for your money. You will die anyway even if you don’t drink,” the President added.
Duterte said the state of his health is not for public consumption even as he acknowledged that the Constitution requires him to let the people know if he is fully incapacitated to discharge the functions of his office.
In an earlier interview, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said Duterte announced the results of his diagnostic examination during the 30th Cabinet meeting on Monday night.
Acting Interior Secretary Eduardo Año also said Duterte was shown to be free of cancer after he was tested in a private hospital.
The public has been clamoring for information on Duterte’s health after the 73-year-old missed two official events last week.
“He disclosed to us that the result of the test was negative, the one where they took samples from his intestines,” Año told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri also said Duterte was “cancer-free” and had only “polyps” in his intestines.
“The President is as strong as an ox. We saw it yesterday. He was in good spirits,” Zubiri said.
Zubiri was among the senators who attended the Cabinet meeting with Duterte on Monday night.
Año said it was Duterte who volunteered to talk about his health during their meeting.
“He said ‘By the way, I had my test.’ And he said ‘The test is negative’,” Año said.
“He even joked and said ‘You know our health is like a battery, it sometimes is negative and positive.’”
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said there was no need to release a medical bulletin on the President’s health.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque also said Duterte had no illness that was serious enough to divulge to the public.
Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go said Duterte was “healthy, okay, and cancer-free.”
Duterte’s health has become a constant cause of concern and a topic of speculation after he repeatedly disappeared from public view, missing several presidential activities. With Macon Ramos-Araneta