Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said in a nationally televised speech on Tuesday that an esophageal complication he suffers from was “nearing stage one cancer.”
The president said his doctors advised him to stop drinking alcohol to prevent his ailment, Barrett’s esophagus, from worsening. Barrett’s esophagus is a complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease in which the stomach regurgitates its contents into the esophagus, causing it to erode. In some cases, the condition can develop into esophageal cancer, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Duterte has “previously admitted suffering from Barrett’s esophagus due to his alcohol intake,” according to the Manila Bulletin (MB). He spoke about the health condition again on Monday during his speech alongside several Philippine Cabinet members in Davao City. The 75-year-old president discussed the commitment of older Cabinet members in tackling corruption, as translated to English from Filipino by the MB.
“We have been in government for a long time. We will retire soon so why would we waste it? We have a few years left, we no longer have an appetite to eat,” Duterte said. “You have money but you can’t eat because the doctors said you must not eat fat because you will die.”
Seeming to repeat his own doctor’s orders, the president continued, “Duterte, do not drink because your Barrett is nearing stage one cancer, so I stopped.”
“For us, we would leave behind the job we did. Because when we face God and he will ask you, ‘Rodrigo, what did you do?’ I’ll say ‘I did everything’,” he added.
The president’s spokesman, Harry Roque, attempted to backtrack Duterte’s claims of cancer on Wednesday.
“People are putting too much meaning on his statement. I think that advice [to reduce alcohol consumption due to his Barrett’s esophagus] was given to him a long time ago when the president was still drinking. He has since stopped drinking and as far as I know since he became president he has not resumed drinking,” Roque told CNN Philippines.
“So you’re talking of medical advice that happened many years ago, even prior to the presidency. And I think the reason why the president precisely stopped drinking was to prevent it [his case of Barrett’s esophagus] from developing into stage one cancer. That is the context of what the president said,” Roque added.
“I guess rephrasing what the president said, he almost had cancer if he did not stop drinking. But he has since stopped drinking,” the spokesman explained. “He doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he has no vices as president because he wants to be in good and healthy condition … So far he is okay. As far as I know, there is no cancer. As I said, if there is cancer, he will be reporting it to the people.”
In October 2018, Duterte said in a public address that he was awaiting the results of a cancer screening.
“I don’t know where I’m now physically, but I have to wait for that,” the president stated in a nationally televised speech. “But, I will tell you if it’s cancer, it’s cancer. If it’s third stage, no more treatment. I will not prolong the agony in this office or anywhere,” he added.
In years past, Duterte has also said he suffers from a litany of other ailments, including Buerger’s disease, an illness that causes inflammation in the limbs’ veins and arteries. Buerger’s is usually caused by smoking.
Duterte regularly cites his ill health as a reason for skipping events, both domestically and during official summits abroad. In 2017, he disappeared for a week from public view in the Philippines, “fuelling speculation he was ill. The government insisted then the speculation was baseless,” Reuters noted.
Duterte – notorious for his deadly crackdown on the illegal drug trade in the Philippines – has also admitted to abusing the powerful opioid pain killer fentanyl because of pain caused by a spinal injury in a motorcycle accident.
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