PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. dismissed on Wednesday as fake news reports claiming he had been hospitalized.
He said he was at the presidential palace doing paperwork and attending a command conference when news of him supposedly having been hospitalized spread online.
“Do I look sick? That’s the kind of fake news we need to watch out for, unless it comes from a credible source,” he told reporters in mixed English and Filipino on the sidelines of a disaster briefing.
“I had a meeting in the morning. I had a command conference with some of our commanders, and I spent the rest of the day reading my briefs and doing paperwork.”
The President said he had received calls from concerned friends asking about his condition.
“It’s totally and completely fake. I do not even have a cold. I do not have anything wrong with me. I’m fine.”
Mr. Marcos attended a peace summit at the presidential palace on Monday, even telling reporters that he had instructed authorities to announce suspension of classes and government work amid heavy downpours before bedtime. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza