President’s health
THE issue reminds me of these lines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more./ It is a tale/ Told by an idiot,/full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing.
Days ago, Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison, speaking from his base in The Hague in the Netherlands, claimed President Duterte is sick. His supposed sources were those who attended the national convention of the San Beda fraternity Lex Talionis last Saturday. They “reported that the darkness of his face had become aggravated from its appearance...and that his walk and handshake had become more unstable.”
“The latest report (still to be verified or negated) is that Duterte has gone into coma since the afternoon or evening of today, Sunday, August 19. The report is still being verified by the press from the Palace,” Sison said. “People are awaiting the personal appearance of Duterte and medical bulletin from his office.”
Malacañang, as expected, denied Sison’s claim with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo putting it this way:
“Unlike Joma Sison the President is in robust health. I wish him good health that he may live long enough to see the dawn of peace that has remained elusive between the communist insurgents and the armed forces.”
But I like the response of ishe-running-for-senator-or-is-henot Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go: the president was in a “kama” and not in “coma.” “Nasa kama lang nag-rest, kausap ko pa 2 a.m. kaninang madaling araw si PRRD. Baka nanaginip lang si Joma,” he said.
The president eventually surfaced in a Facebook live shoot that Go posted. It showed Duterte about to share a meal with a woman not his wife named Bernice in a private dining room of a hotel in Davao City. “Okay pa naman ako. Sabi nila comatose.
How can you be comatose with a beautiful lady? Kung comatose ako, makita ko si Bernice, talagang babangon ako,” he said.
Then he threw a verbal jab at Joma that sparked a short verbal skirmish between the two:
“Ikaw yung comatose. Ikaw yung may sakit at alam mo, ang totoo lang, complain na rin ang Netherlands kasi labas pasok ka sa ospital hindi ka man daw nagbabayad. You are not paying and you are abusing the hospitality of the Netherlands. If you think that you are sick, come home and I will bring you to a place — it’s called Bilibid. Pero doon, I will provide you the space, a bed, and plenty to keep you company.”
Days later, this was Joma’s response:
“If the video showing Duterte hotel-dating a young woman was really recorded on Monday night (Davao time), I am pleased to see that Duterte is still alive and that there is a chance of his living long enough to be held accountable for his crimes against the people and be tried by the people´s court or by the International Criminal Court.”
The president is old and has admitted to be afflicted with some ailments. So expect the issue on his health staying relevant throughout his term. In a way, Joma got what he wanted, which was for the people to focus on the president’s health.