Lawyer asks SC to reconsider denial of petition for disclosure of Duterte’s health records

The lawyer who asked the Supreme Court (SC) to compel Malacañang to disclose President Rodrigo Duterte's health records has urged the tribunal to reconsider its denial of his petition.

Lawyer Dino de Leon has filed a motion for reconsideration, citing the "transcendental importance" to the nation of the President's duty to disclose his health status. He also asked the SC to set the case for oral arguments.

De Leon said the court "should not have hastily dismissed the case and instead studied the same further," arguing the issue is "very novel."

"It is clear that the information subject of the Petition is a matter of public concern, as it involves no less than the physical and mental capacity of the President to carry out his duties at a time of a pandemic where his lucid decisions may spell the difference between life and death for so many people," he said in the motion.

De Leon had filed a petition for mandamus asking that the Office of the President be ordered to disclose the Chief Executive's health records since he assumed office, alleging that Duterte had been absent from engagements for health reasons, had "prolonged absences" from public view, and appeared incoherent in public addresses during the COVID-19 crisis.

He also cited the President's several illnesses, such as Buerger's disease, Barrett's esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux disease, spinal issues, daily migraines, and myasthenia gravis.

Section 12, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution requires the disclosure of the state of the President's health in case of "serious illness."

The SC dismissed the petition last May without requiring Malacañang to comment. The court said De Leon failed to establish that he is entitled to the writ of mandamus.

The tribunal said the petitioner's claims of Duterte's illnesses were based on "what he perceived" from online news articles. It said the President's Cabinet meetings and public addresses on the COVID-19 government response show he has been "actively performing his official duties."

The court said the allegation of Durerte's serious illness is "unsubstantiated" and based on conjectures.

Motion for reconsideration

In his motion for reconsideration, De Leon said Duterte "has repeatedly made incorrigible rumblings and, in numerous occasions, appeared unwell" in public Cabinet meetings.

He said the court's "abrupt decision" to reject his petition made it appear that the justices "took the cudgels to defend the respondents" and denied Filipinos' right to hear the side of Malacañang.

He said Duterte himself admitted his illnesses in his official statements. He also cited a report in which a physician said these illnesses when taken together are "serious and can be debilitating enough to prevent continuing work in public office."

“[I]s the Honorable Court really prepared to say before the Filipino People and posterity that the President is perfectly physically and mentally well, considering his incomprehensible statements and admissions that he is afflicted with various serious illnesses?" De Leon said.

"The emperor has no clothes, and it is time for the Honorable Court to call a spade a spade, if only to protect the Filipino People from a physically and mentally unwell leader. This is even more important at a time of a crisis where the Chief Executive should undoubtedly be physically and mentally able to govern," he added. — RSJ, GMA News