Duterte not facing any health issues, officials say
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is alive and well and experiencing no health problems, the government said yesterday, amid concerns about his disappearance from the public eye for unusually long periods this month.
Known for a busy schedule and lengthy speeches often several times a day, the 72-year-old Duterte’s low profile has fuelled rumours he is in declining health and that the government is trying to keep that under wraps. He was last seen in public a week ago.
Biggest crisis
What has created the most intrigue is Duterte’s absence during what is the biggest crisis of his year-old presidency, as the military battles for a sixth week to defeat Daesh-linked rebels currently occupying Marawi City on his home island of Mindanao.
“First and foremost, he is alive and well, he is very well, he’s just busy doing what he needs to do,”, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.
“As you’ve seen he’s been very much in the public eye but being out of the public eye, that is when he is able to do office work, he signs papers, he reads, he consults, he’s actually very busy.
“The thing that is very important to note is that he is on top of every situation, he is aware of what’s happening, he’s updated regularly, he reads, he listens.” he office of the Philippine president has said it will not engage in talks with militants for the release of a priest and other hostages held in Marawi City, in exchange for the release of members of the Maute family.
Saying the it will not enter into a “prisoner swap,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the government cannot simply release the parents of the Maute brothers, Cayamora and Farhana Maute, in exchange for the freedom of Catholic priest ‘Chito’ Suganob and other Marawi hostages.
“The government policy not to negotiate with terrorists remains,” Abella said yesterday in a palace press briefing.
Earlier, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, quoting a source, said the Daesh-inspired Maute is willing to free Suganob in exchange for the release from government custody of the parents of the Maute brothers.
The Maute also want the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to take part in the negotiations to end the crisis in Marawi City.
But Abella said whatever talks parties had engaged in concerning “prisoner swap” is not sanctioned by the government.
The Maute, in the initial hours of the crisis, had stormed government offices, schools and churches. Suganob was holding a religious ceremony at the Saint Mary Cathedral when armed Maute men barged into the house of worship.
‘Sensitive matter’
It was presumed that religious leaders in Marawi City had pushed for the talks on prisoner swap. For its part, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday said it was leaving it to the government to secure the safe release of Suganob.
“It’s a sensitive matter. Let’s leave it to the government and Fr Chito’s bishop to decide on the matter,” the CBCP said in a statement. “Our only wish is for the safe release of the hostages,” they added
Abella said, “Any local religious leader-led talks with the terrorists last Sunday is one that was not sanctioned by government, the military and our political leaders. Any demands made inside, therefore, hold no basis.”
He warned: “Let us continue to remind the public that the gravity of theirs — of terrorists’ and their supporters’ offence is immense and they must all be held accountable for all their actions.”