Malacañang on Friday, October 5, decried a recent report that misquoted President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s statement about Chinese businessman Michael Yang’s alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. in a Palace press briefing described the report as “wrong, false, and malicious.”
According to the news story, President Duterte claimed that Yang had close ties with Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua.
Roque replayed a video portion of the speech to clarify the President’s statement.
“I think it’s very clear that what the President meant to say was number one, he cannot believe that Michael Yang is involved in the drug trade,” the Spokesperson explained.
“Number two, because he was saying that he could not believe that Michael Yang is involved in the drug trade, the report that the President linked the Chinese Ambassador to a drug lord is obviously false,” he added.
Roque said the malicious report could pose a danger to the country’s bilateral relations with China.
As such, he called on the news website that published the report to practice responsible journalism by correcting its story and issuing the corresponding errata.
“Their interpretation of what the President just meant of course has absolutely no basis, and it is only but proper if they have any sense of responsible journalism that they correct their story,” Roque asserted.
“[T]heir story has in turn been cited by international wire agencies. And obviously, because it has gone international, it will have dire consequences for the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China,” he further stressed.
“Duterte not inclined to hide medical condition”
During the same press briefing, Secretary Roque confirmed that the President underwent a diagnostic examination this week, but clarified that the Palace never lied about it to the public.
Roque said he had just found out about the diagnostic exam when the President himself publicly disclosed it.
“Now people think I lied. I’m telling the nation I did not lie. I did not know,” he stressed.
Furthermore, Roque said the fact that the President underwent a diagnostic test was not something that requires public disclosure.
Citing the Constitution, the Spokesperson stressed that the President is still entitled to privacy with regard to his health condition, unless he suffers from a serious medical illness.
“I’d like to stress that Article 7 Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution only provides that it is only in case of serious illness of the President is there a requirement that the public be informed of the state of his health,” Roque cited.
Even so, the Palace official assured the people that President Duterte is not inclined to hide anything about the state of his health.
“I assure you, as a lawyer, he knows what the Constitution says. If it is a serious illness, he will inform the nation,” Roque stressed.
“Kaya naman po ina-assure ko ang taumbayan. Hindi po kayo pagtataguan ng Presidente,” he added. (PCO-Content)
