Duterte debunks kidney problem claim

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday shrugged off claims that he is suffering from a chronic kidney disease as floated by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison.

Sison took to Facebook on Tuesday to share a supposed prognosis of a doctor that the “dark discoloration” of the President’s face may be linked to renal failure.

Sison said another doctor surmised that if the level of creatinine, a waste product in the blood, is elevated, then Duterte must be on dialysis, a procedure that requires access to blood vessels in the arms or legs.

To disprove that claim, Duterte showed his arm during his attendance at the 49th charter day celebration of Mandaue City held at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex on Thursday.

“Dying? Kidney, my arm looks really good. Here, see! Do you see any injection marks?” Duterte said in his speech.

The President said last week that the darkening of his skin was caused by his trips to the mountains.

Duterte added that he does not use sunscreen. “Naturally, my skin will darken because I don’t use that,” he said.

“It’s always like this every election. So I have so many elections in my life including the presidency. This is what I’ve gained, burnt skin. It won’t heal right away but it will eventually be back to normal.”

Duterte also mocked anew Sison’s claim that he was in a coma recently. 

“He’s saying I will die from comatose. Comatose is a good thing if it can still harden with Viagra, but there’s really nothing for you,” the 73-year-old Duterte quipped. 

“I might give you five cans of Viagra, but there’s nothing there. He was silent when I paraded beautiful girls in front of him.”

Duterte had said the communist leader was the one who was sick and was abusing the privileges allegedly given to him by The Netherlands where he is seeking asylum as a political refugee since 1987.

Sison, in a statement last week, vowed to show his "true and verifiable medical certification" on the state of his health as soon as Duterte released his own medical certification.

He alleged that Duterte had been forced to appear in public to refute the claims of illness, though his appearance revealed "an unusually darkened face and he looked tired and dispirited." —KBK, GMA News