Palace says Marcos in the pink amid social media brouhaha
Claire Castro. Screengrab from RTVM/FACEBOOK
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is in the pink of health, contrary to the unfounded social media conjectures that he is sick because of his supposedly bleeding gums at a military event on Wednesday.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Malacañang press officer Claire Castro did not verify if the President did have bleeding gums during the event, but she decried attempts to conflate the matter with Mr. Marcos’ health.
“If you will notice, the President is seen in public almost every day in his activities and when he joins the Alyansa campaign rallies. Apart from that, he also has regular meetings with us,” Castro said.
READ: Palace downplays reported ‘bleeding gums,’ says Marcos is healthy
“[From] my perspective—since I have opportunities to be around the President—the President is in good health. Because if he [were] ill, then he won’t be able to attend to his day-to-day duties and schedule,” she said.
She then rebuked “fake news peddlers” for concocting unfounded speculation about the 67-year-old Chief Executive’s health.
“Even those who are not doctors are acting like they are doctors on social media,” Castro said.
The social media speculations stemmed from a Radio Television Malacañang’s recording of Mr. Marcos’ Araw ng Kagitingan speech at Camp Aguinaldo on Wednesday.
The video caused Marcos critics, suddenly concerned about the President, to claim that he had bleeding gums and started to speculate about his health.
In fact, Castro said, Mr. Marcos’ speech at Camp Aguinaldo was his second event on Wednesday after he woke up early to lead the wreath-laying ceremonies at Mount Samat in Pilar, Bataan
Typical work day
After his speech at the Dambana ng Kagitingan, he also inspected a newly renovated museum focusing on the experiences of Filipino and American veterans during and after the Battle of Bataan.
After his engagement
in Bataan, the President visited SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday afternoon, for the launch of the Bagong Pilipinas National Food Fair organized by the Department of Trade and Industry.
On Thursday, Castro told Malacañang reporters that she was with Mr. Marcos in a meeting earlier that day and she did not see any indication that he was unwell.
