Amid the health rumors surrounding the Philippine President, he admitted having a myasthenia gravis, which he described as “nerve malfunction.”
“I got it from my… exactly from my grandfather, ganun rin siya (he also has it). So I believe really in genetics. Kung anong sa kanya, nakuha ko eh (Whatever he had, I acquired too),” President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said on Saturday, October 5, during his meeting with the Filipino community at the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy (VDNH) in Moscow.
During his speech, Duterte was explaining why one of his eyes looks smaller compared to the other saying, “Ganun ako eh. May talent ako, magtingin ako sa’yo, ‘yung isang mata ko bumaba. Kita mo maliit ‘yung isa, tingnan mo. O ‘di maliit. O ‘yun. Nag-nagsasariling biyahe ‘yan (That is how I am. I have this talent, when I look at you, one of my eyes will look down. You can see that the other is smaller, look. It is smaller. It goes its own way),” which drew laughter from the crowd.
Myasthenia gravis, according to the United States National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles, which are responsible for breathing and moving parts of the body, including the arms and legs. It may also involve muscle controls on eye, eyelid, facial expression, chewing, talking, and swallowing. Myasthenia gravis has no known cure but available treatments can control symptoms.
At 74, the Chief Executive has been the subject of many rumors regarding his health.
Aside from this revelation, Duterte is known to suffer from Barrett’s esophagus, Buerger’s disease, and nerve damage from a motorcycle accident.
The Philippine Constitution Article VII Section 12 states that “In case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health.”