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Frat brods dispute claim Duterte looked ill during Lex Talionis event


Two fraternity brothers of President Rodrigo Duterte lashed back at claims the chief executive was in poor health during his attendance at the fraternity’s national convention in Davao City on Saturday.

Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison on Sunday claimed that those who saw Duterte during the national convention of his San Beda Law fraternity Lex Talionis Fraternitas on Saturday “reported that the darkness of his face had become aggravated from its appearance the other day and that his walk and handshake had become more unstable.”

Sison, once accused by Duterte of suffering from colon cancer, accompanied his post with a photo supposedly taken during the Lex Talionis event which was closed to the media.

Lex Talionis members present in the event disputed Sison’s claim which Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo called “absolutely false.”

“That’s Red propaganda,” former Bureau of Corrections director general and Lex Talionis member Benjamin Delos Santos told GMA News Online.

“He was in his element when he’s with his fraternity brothers. He delivered a one-hour speech and even stayed in the venue until 1 a.m. Sunday.”

Another Lex Talionis member, Ruell Garcia, took to Facebook to give an assessment after he “saw and listened to the president up close.”

Garcia said he made his observations public to counter “fake news and publicity tricks.”

“During the Lex Talionis Fraternitas #NatCon, I was seated more or less 10 meters from the podium, standing at least 2 meters from where the president passes upon arrival, sitting about 1 and half meter at the stage for the photo ops, and less than an inch when we had shaken our hands,” Garcia said.

“Unlike speculations that Digong is ill, he was stronger than the common oldies of his age. He stood straight at the podium for his message for almost an hour, and not one physical distraction ever interrupted his wits, humour, candour and astuteness,” he added.

Garcia said the President was “sharp and was precise with details of his words.”

“He pinpointed people, places, events, things, ideas, and legal principles with 100 percent accuracy,” he said.

Garcia also shared that Duterte is not “backing out” from his goal of cleaning the country from crimes, drugs and corruption, not giving up the country’s sovereignty, and that the President was “resolved to finish” his term in 2022.

“He just expressed fear that when time will pave a way of replacing him as president, he was afraid of the vulnerability, not that he doesn’t like Leni, [Robredo] of the VP [vice president] from the charlatans and opportunists surrounding her, and lead the country to its worst again,” Garcia said.

“Believe it or not, Digong is radiantly inspiring,” he added.

Duterte's health has been the subject of much speculation, but he has repeatedly downplayed such concerns.

The President 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 a result of a motorcycle accident years ago.

Last month, the Palace allayed concerns Duterte might be sick after he underwent a routine medical checkup the night before his third State of the Nation Address on July 23. —KG, GMA News

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