Duterte hits ABS-CBN anew for alleged 'fake news' on his health

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday blasted broadcast network ABS-CBN for allegedly spreading false information about his health.

"Bastos 'yang ABS-CBN. Fake news," Duterte said in a mix of Cebuano and English in his speech in Mandaue City.

"ABS-CBN ang nagbandera na malapit na ako mamatay... parang sinasabi na 'I want you or maybe you should die.' Pero sige lang," he added.

Questions about Duterte's health came to fore after Jose Maria Sison, Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman and National Democratic Front of the Philipppines chief political consultant, claimed in a recent Facebook post that Duterte had lapsed into a coma.

Media outlets then reported on Sison's claim which Duterte refuted by appearing in a Facebook Live video having dinner with a woman and public events last week. 

Duterte's fresh tirades against ABS-CBN, whose congressional franchise is due to expire in 2020, seem to be a turnaround from his conciliatory tone just two weeks ago.

Speaking before during a dinner he hosted on August 14 in Malacañang for the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, Duterte said he was willing to let go of his beef with ABS-CBN.

The President, however, maintained that he was hurt by the airing of the controversial political ad against him paid for and by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a defeated vice presidential bet, in the run up to the May 2016 elections. 

ABS-CBN has been a frequent target of Duterte's rants, with the President accusing the network of accepting funds from him without airing his political advertisements. —JST, GMA News