Palace denies Duterte taken to hospital as President skips scheduled event

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday skipped an event in Malacañang even as Malacañang quashed rumors he was taken to the hospital.

Duterte did not attend the turn over of a check from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation slated for 4 p.m. in the presidential palace.

He was represented in the event by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, according to the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, however, denied that Duterte was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday morning.

“Not true,” Roque said.

Duterte’s top aide, Christopher “Bong” Go, said the President will have a full schedule on Thursday.

The President, for one, will be gracing a dinner with the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association, Inc. in Malacañang on Thursday night.

“We will definitely be seeing the President tomorrow [Thursday] as he will be attending many events and will be meeting with different groups in the Palace,” Go said.

The 73-year-old Duterte last month assured the public that he is healthy despite his previous revelation that he has Buerger's disease, a condition that causes constriction of the blood vessels due to nicotine, and Barrett's esophagus, a disease involving the tissue in the esophagus.

He had also admitted to having a misaligned spine as result of a motorcycle accident years ago.

Duterte, however, denied the claim of exiled communist leader Jose Maria Sison that he slipped into coma last August. —JST, GMA News