Rappler notes lack of transparency in Palace bulletins on Marcos health

CHEERS TO Rappler for examining how the Palace handled the announcement of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ recent illness. Rappler’s Bea Cupin was the only reporter who said the refusal of Malacañang to release a medical bulletin only begs more questions about Marcos’ health. 

In an article published by Rappler on January 29, Cupin recalled the events in January that warranted questions from the press about the president’s health. She reported the Palace announcement on January 22 that said Marcos had spent the night in hospital after experiencing discomfort due to diverticulitis, an inflammation of the large intestines. She said President Marcos skipped his scheduled engagements from January 22 onwards and sent representatives in his stead, but the Palace claimed he continued working through private meetings.

Cupin noted that in a Palace briefing on January 28, reporters pressed Claire Castro, Palace Press Officer, for either a medical bulletin or an official statement from Marcos’ physician. Castro told the media that the president’s own statement about his condition would be “more reliable,” saying that to her knowledge, a medical bulletin was not necessary since these are only issued in cases of serious illness. The Palace then released a video of a healthy-looking Marcos, in which he explained why he had to skip events and that he “got the best possible medical care.”

Cupin said the Palace and St. Luke’s Medical Center, where Marcos had been confined, warned the public about fake medical documents on Marcos’s health that have been circulating online. Cupin said the Palace decided not to release a medical bulletin, which Cupin also said past presidents had done. She added that Marcos’ own father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, “suppressed information” about the real state of his health when he was president. 

Cupin ended her article with the question, “Will the younger Marcos do as his father did? Or will he actually walk the talk and implement the transparency he supposedly champions?”

More reporters should call out Malacañang when it dodges important questions, particularly when these concern the capacity of President Marcos to carry out his official duties.