Manila: The presidential palace on Saturday denied rumours that President Benigno Aquino III was ill and had collapsed on Friday.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, in an interview over government-run dzRB radio, said the 55-year-old bachelor head of state is in good health contrary to rumours that made the rounds Friday evening.
“I can assure you the president’s health is in good condition according to his physician,” Valte said.
Earlier, there were rumours that Aquino had fallen sick and had even collapsed after attending an out of town event southeast of the capital, in Cavite City.
Valte said these claims are not true.
“The President did not mention that he is suffering from any medical condition,” Valte said adding that Aquino regularly undergoes health check-ups and regularly sees his personal doctor.
Rumours concerning the president’s health condition were likely brought about by unplanned disruptions in Aquino’s official schedule for the day.
Reports said the Aquino was supposed to return to the presidential palace after attending the inauguration of a shrine to revolutionary hero, Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite past noon Friday. However, he had gone somewhere else and was not heard from nor seen since then.
Valte cautioned observers against making false interpretations about the President’s deviation from schedule.
“Let’s just be careful about disseminating unverified information on social media,” she said.
The rumours came at a time when the President had been going through a difficult period is his presidency, which is due to end in mid-2016 when his six-year mandate ends.
According to a poll by independent survey group, Pulse Asia Research, Aquino scored his lowest national approval and trust ratings in March 2015 since assuming the presidency in 2010.
“This is the first time the President has posted non-majority national approval and trust ratings in Ulat ng Bayan (People’s Report) surveys since he was first rated as President by survey respondents back in October 2010. Furthermore, in the March 2015 survey, essentially the same percentages of Filipinos express either appreciation for or indecision regarding the President’s performance in the past three months (38 per cent versus 39 per cent) while basically the same percentages either trust him or are ambivalent toward his trustworthiness (36 per cent versus 37 per cent),” Pulse Asia Research said.
The survey was conducted three months after the disastrous Mamasapano Incident in Maguindanao where 44 members of an elite police unit was killed in an operation to capture two wanted terrorists.