Duterte admits getting check-up for ‘pain’ in the heart

Pia Ranada

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Duterte admits getting check-up for ‘pain’ in the heart
The President says his doctor ran an electrocardiogram on Monday, February 6, to check on his heart: 'I was not feeling well. Masakit man ang puso ko.'

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte admits he had his doctor check on his heart on Monday, February 6, because he was “not feeling well.”

“Na-late ako pardon me, nag-EKG ako (electrocardiogram, also referred to as ECG). I was not feeling well. Masakit man ang puso ko,” said Duterte during a speech at the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s 2017 campaign launch for large taxpayers.

(I was late, pardon me, I had an EKG. I was not feeling well. I felt pain in my heart.)

He said his doctor, Dr Del Rosario from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, came over to conduct an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG), a test that checks for problems with electrical activity in the heart. 

“Pagdating ni Dra Del Rosario sa Cardinal Santos, dala-dala ‘yung EKG niya, wala namang diperensya,” he said. (When Dr Del Rosario of Cardinal Santos came over, she brought with her her EKG, there seemed to be nothing wrong with me.)

His doctor supposedly also made a joke about his condition.

“‘Baka ano ka lang sa EJK, sakit sa extrajudicial (Maybe you’re just sick because of the issue with extrajudicial killings),” Duterte recalled the doctor saying, referring to the current controversy on extrajudicial killings.

“She was caught in a snarl in the traffic. By land na sana ako, nag-chopper ako kasi I was delayed (I was supposed to travel by land, but I was forced to take a chopper because I was already delayed),” said Duterte.

When asked by reporters to elaborate on the Monday check-up, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar dismissed it as “storya lang.” (It’s just a story.)

The President has talked about his health condition many times before. He admits he takes medication but insists that, at his age, this is only normal. (READ: LIST: ‘Migraine everyday’ and Duterte’s other ailments)

During his Monday speech, he took a swipe at a columnist who had written that he flew to China over the 2016 holidays for cancer treatment.

Rather than answer the accusation directly, Duterte characteristically responded through a joke.

“Totoo, nagpunta ako sa China, totoo nagpunta ako ng ospital, nagpatuli ako. Sabihin ko sa kanya. Nagpatuli ako, eh bumalik eh,” he said, drawing laughter from his audience.

(It’s true, I went to China, it’s true. I went to a hospital, to get circumcised. I would tell him, I got circumcised because my penis grew back.) – Rappler.com 

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Pia Ranada

Pia Ranada is Rappler’s Community Lead, in charge of linking our journalism with communities for impact.