MANILA – Malacañang lambasted a petition filed by a lawyer urging the Supreme Court (SC) to compel President Rodrigo Duterte to release to the public his medical records.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said the petition, which claimed that Duterte looked “physically unwell” during his previous address regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, were “just purely speculations.”
“The petition filed by a certain lawyer before the Supreme Court to compel President Duterte to disclose the results of his medical exams or other health records warrants an outright dismissal,” Panelo said in a statement.
“The petition does not have any factual or legal bases. It is hornbook doctrine that a petition before a court of law cannot be anchored on mere conjectures or surmises,” he added.
Panelo cited Article VII, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution as he assured that the public will be informed of the state of the President’s health only if he has a serious illness.
“There is no evidence submitted before the high court that the President is suffering from a serious illness,” Panelo said. “I am encouraging the petitioner to improve his knowledge on the law.”
“The suit may have been a product of petitioner’s boredom as a result of the enhanced community quarantine. He may instead want to use his time by brushing up his law,” he added.
Lawyer Dino De Leon has filed an Extremely Urgent Petition for Mandamus asking the high court to direct Duterte, through the Office of the President and/or Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, to disclose his medical records, undergo confirmatory tests, and release these tests’ results.
“This Extremely Urgent Petition for Mandamus was mainly brought about by my concern as a citizen on the physical and mental fitness of President Duterte to steer the nation as we face the health crisis,” De Leon said in a Facebook post on Monday night.
“The issue on the health of the President is now with the Supreme Court, and I look forward to their swift action, in light of the urgency of the situation,” he added./PN
