The President needs to rest

THE statement from Malacañang on President Duterte’s condition and need for a rest was incredibly frustrating and rambling. Instead of saying outright that the President is exhausted and weary from all his recent traveling (first to Tokyo for the enthronement of the new Japanese emperor and then to Bangkok for the 2019 Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit of Leaders), and that he consequently needed to rest or take a brief leave, Palace communicators and spokesmen spun an elaborate spiel about the President being a workaholic, and how Asean leaders in Bangkok had remarked that President Duterte looked overworked.

The statement was obviously designed to assure the nation about the President’s condition and capability to carry on with his duties as chief executive. Instead, the wobbly statement, because of failure to disclose some basic facts, had the unintended effect of alarming the people into worry about their leader.

It would have been far better if the palace announcement had striven to be just straightforward and complete on necessary information.

First, the Palace statement talked about Duterte being a

“workaholic.” Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said: “Eh workaholic ‘yuneh.Ayaw papigil magtrabaho nang

magtrabaho (He’s a workaholic. He can’t be stopped).”

“You know the job of the President is just reading the briefers and signing papers. Matagalna

trabaho‘yun (It’s a heavy load).

Most likely, he will lessen his volume of work parahindisiya

masyadong (so that he won’t be too) pressured,” he added.

Then, the statement talked distractedly about some comments made by Asean leaders on Duterte looking overworked. Panelo said other world leaders had expressed concern about Duterte’s health during the recently concluded regional summit in Thailand.

“If you will ask me, he really needs to rest kasiparangmaymga comment d’unsamga leaders eh,parang‘yung (because there were these comments from other world leaders that), ‘Your President looks overworked. Don’t let him work too much,’” he said.

“Sabilangnamannamin (We said), ‘Actually, yeah he’s working very hard, and at the same time he had an accident. So that contributed to what you’re seeing now,’” Panelo said.

Lastly, the statement tried to allay anew public concern about the health of the President, who was earlier diagnosed with muscle spasms after he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging and medical evaluation. And he has also had a motorcycle accident.

It was then that the Palace disclosed that the President has been advised by doctors to “rest for a couple of days and limit his physical activity, particularly avoiding standing or walking for long duration.”

Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, the former presidential aide, volunteered the information that the President would take a one-week break after the 35th Asean Summit.

It is striking that in all the current talk about the President’s condition, none of his doctors has been allowed to talk or issue a medical bulletin.

We think it unnecessary and overblown for Palace communicators to talk about Duterte being a workaholic and overworked in order to secure for him public understanding and sympathy.

That is certain, because he has been been most productive and daring and busy since his accession to the presidency three and a half years ago. No president, not even President Ferdinand Marcos, has made more foreign travels than he has. No one has clearly gone to more wakes than he has.

The busy schedule is a measure of how engaged he is in the tasks of the presidency and the work of leading and managing the affairs of our nation of 107 million people.

Of course, President Duterte should take a rest or leave.

He plainly needs it.

The Palace statement was obviously designed to assure the nation about the President’s condition and capability to carry on with his duties. But in failing to disclose some basic facts, it had the unintended effect of alarming the people into worry about their leader