I’m not cancerous: Duterte

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte administers the oath of the newly-elected officers of the Malacañang Press Corps in a ceremony at the Malacañan Palace on October 9, 2018. KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday said he is cancer-free, following the release of results of his medical exam in a private hospital last week.

“Hindi pa ako (I’m not yet) cancerous so do not be afraid to go near me, I will not contaminate you,” Duterte said after administering the oath of Malacañang Press Corps officers at Malacañang Palace.

Duterte said he underwent colonoscopy and endoscopy at Cardinal Santos Hospital in San Juan City on Oct. 3 for at least an hour.

The 73-year-old President said the findings showed that his Barrett’s esophagus was “badly eroded” due to alcohol intake.

“Was I found positive of cancer? It’s not the colon, it’s my Barrett. It’s badly eroded because I was told to stop drinking years ago,” Duterte said.

Duterte, meanwhile, denied that he also underwent a medical checkup in Hong Kong last Oct. 6 after joking that that his medical tests in Philippine and Hong Kong hospitals showed different results.

“You believe that I had a checkup in Hong Kong?” Duterte said, stressing that he was there to shop for clothes.

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque refrained from answering questions about the President’s health, noting that he had no information.

He, however, assured that the President will comply with the Constitution and divulge the state of his health if it is a “serious” or life-threatening condition.

“The President will comply with the Constitution, unless serious, he will treat medical condition as private,” Roque said.

“We take it that whatever the President has is not serious,” he added.

Interior and Local Government Officer-In-Charge Secretary Eduardo Año also confirmed that Duterte tested negative for cancer.