Palace: Duterte is healthy

Malacañang said Friday that President Rodrigo Duterte is healthy for his age.

Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles made the statement a day after he announced that the President went into quarantine after an exposure to a COVID-19 case and had a regular checkup afterward based on doctor's orders.

"Okay naman si Pangulo (The President is okay)," Nograles said at a news conference.

"He is as healthy as any healthy individual at his age could be," he added.

Duterte is 76 years old.

Nograles then said that, upon assessment of the President's doctor, the chief executive's COVID-19 case exposure was on January 28.

"Upon the assessment of the physician, even if another household staff tested positive [for COVID-19] last Sunday, the President was not in close contact as per the circumstances," Nograles said.

"That is why his quarantine was cut short and ended yesterday, February 3," he added.

Nograles confirmed that Duterte went for a checkup at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, but did not provide the date.

On Thursday, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go released a photo showing Duterte in personal protective equipment while wearing a face mask and a face shield inside a car.

The picture was said to have been taken on Thursday afternoon somewhere in Metro Manila. 

Duterte's aides have repeatedly dismissed calls for the Palace to issue medical bulletins regarding the President's health, claiming that the Constitution only demands disclosure in the event of a serious sickness.

The President's last public appearance was during his Talk to the People address on January 24.

Nograles said that Duterte's next public appearance is "presumably on Monday." — VBL, GMA News