Duterte not feeling well, skips barangay officials’ event in Leyte

President Rodrigo Duterte skipped an event with barangay officials in Leyte slated for Friday afternoon, his former aide Christopher “Bong” Go said.

Duterte canceled his attendance to the Barangay Summit on Peace and Order at the Leyte Academic Center in Palo town  because he was “not feeling well,” according to Go.

The event was scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte should be commended “for knowing when to cancel a trip and resting his body if he is not feeling his usual strong self.”

“He is not Superman. Every person does not feel well sometimes,” he said.

“I don't think that the President cancelling an event because he is not feeling well is a cause of concern.”

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who was tasked to read Duterte’s message for the event, offered another reason.

“Ang nakarating sa akin is I should represent the President because of some pressing commitment so siguro kasama na rin siguro yun but probably the best person to ask is the spokesperson of the President,” he told reporters in Palo.

Panelo, however, said the “pressing commitment” was also canceled.

“Secretary Año didn’t know that,” he said.

The President took part in a similar event in Pasay City on January 8 which was attended by over 4,000 barangay and local government officials in Metro Manila.

The 73-year-old chief executive’s public  appearances this week included a visit to the bombed cathedral in Jolo, Sulu on Monday, groundbreaking ceremony for a new hospital in Malabon City and the premiere night of the biopic of former Philippine National Police chief and senatorial candidate Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa held at a mall in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday.

Duterte had private meetings with Russia’s Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev and Israel’s Ambassador to the Philippines Rafael Harpaz in Malacañang on Thursday.

Rumors of Duterte’s health woes re-emerged in October last year after he missed two official events, including a meeting with the Cabinet.

Duterte later told his official family that he does not have cancer, after he underwent tests in a private hospital as doctors asked him to repeat digestive track procedures three weeks after similar tests.

Last December, the President disclosed that he had a regular blood test but did not say for what purpose.

Duterte previously revealed 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. — RSJ, GMA News