President Rodrigo Duterte returned to public duties Saturday after several days of absence that prompted some to speculate about the state of his health.
Duterte, 72, attended a ceremony commemorating the founding of a province and later met with troops in Butuan city, both in Mindanao.
Responding to questions from reporters, a jovial Duterte said: “My state of health is — what you see is what you get,” he said, adding that his last medical examination was last year.
Asked if he had any surgery or blood transfusion during his absence, he joked that he had had a “circumcision.”
“What’s your problem? There’s a vice president,” he noted.
Duterte had not been seen in public since Monday.
His spokesperson, Ernesto Abella, said Thursday that Duterte withdrew from public duties to “rejuvenate” after a punishing schedule, which saw him traveling long distances.
Duterte was last seen on June 11 in Cagayan de Oro, visiting soldiers wounded in the fighting with members of the local terrorist group Maute in Marawi.
From the city in Mindanao, Duterte went straight to the Villamor Airbase in Pasay to lead the arrival honors for eight of 13 Marines who died in Marawi, and then to the Marine headquarters to visit government troops and Libingan ng mga Bayani to visit the wake of a fallen government trooper.
Both are in Taguig.
The President’s schedule on that day ended past midnight already.