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Alan Robles

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has revealed his struggle with an abdominal ailment all while grappling with a string of political woes that would churn even the strongest of stomachs – impeachment complaints, plunging ratings and simmering public anger over corruption.
Yet he has assured Filipinos there is nothing to worry about on the health front.
But on Wednesday, almost a week after his disclosure, the president missed an event at the palace: an awards ceremony for outstanding civil servants. Executive secretary Ralph Recto, who stood in for Marcos, said his boss was “catching up with paperwork”.
Marcos last appeared on January 22 in a one-minute video clip released by the palace, in which he said: “I now have diverticulitis. It’s a common complaint.” The condition is the result of small pouches developing in the wall of one’s large intestine that become inflamed.
The video sought to allay rumours swirling that morning, when local media reported that the president had spent the night in hospital under “medical observation” for discomfort. The news and rumours that Marcos had undergone surgery spawned reactions from political opponents, who cited his declining health in their calls for him to step down.

A medical doctor with decades of experience told This Week in Asia that while diverticulitis was a common gastrointestinal condition, “but in a head of state, it takes on added significance”.
“Any illness that requires hospitalisation – even if routine – can raise concerns about continuity of leadership,” he said. “The public naturally worries because health issues at the highest level of government can affect stability, decision‑making, and confidence in institutions”.
The doctor suggested that a medical professional should have been by Marcos’ side during the video announcement of his health to answer technical questions.
The only media question Marcos addressed in the video was a query about what he wanted to say to his opponents who were using the opportunity to throw doubt on his fitness to govern.
“Don’t be too excited because it’s not a life-threatening condition … the rumours of my death are highly exaggerated,” the president quipped.
Marcos’ quoting of American humorist Mark Twain recalls the case of his own father and namesake, a dictator who was chased out of the country in 1986 along with his family.

In 1981, Marcos senior became sick with lupus erythematosus, a rare autoimmune disease that targeted his kidneys. He was so debilitated that his face puffed up, he required frequent dialysis and underwent several operations, including two kidney transplants.
The president at the time repeatedly denied he was sick, although one US official who visited him in 1983 recalled “he looked like death warmed over”. When the dictator ran for re-election in 1985, his propagandists insisted he was in the pink of health, quoting him as saying “the report of my death was an exaggeration”.
A businessman who spoke on condition of anonymity said, however, that “unlike his father, this president does not seem to lie about his health”.
Marcos is not the only Philippine president who has been afflicted by stomach ailments. The country’s second post-war president, Elpidio Quirino, suffered from vomiting and fever and needed two surgical operations, after announcing he would run for re-election in 1952.
In the January 22 video, Marcos said his doctors had advised him to stop working so hard. But he has a lot to keep him up at night.
The Philippine economy is down, his administration is seen as riddled with corruption and he faces two impeachment complaints. His government is also busy fending off attacks from both leftist politicians and supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte – whom Marcos had allowed to be sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague last year to face trial for crimes against humanity.
A Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll released last month showed that Marcos’ trust ratings had plummeted to minus 3 per cent, while that of his vice-president and nemesis Sara Duterte-Carpio had risen to 31 per cent. Surveys indicate Duterte-Carpio is a strong candidate for president in the 2028 election.
Another SWS survey from November showed more than 80 per cent of the populace of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces believe there is a lot of corruption in the government.

The economy is also slumping. Online news site Philstar reported on Monday that last year the economy grew 4.5 per cent, below the government’s target of 6.5 per cent.
A banker source suggests Marcos could be feeling the pressure when it comes to the peso-dollar rate. On January 22, the palace quoted the president as saying he did not want the peso, currently valued at 59.46 to one US dollar, to sink down to 60.
But “his comments on the peso are more emotional due to stress and pressure – an indicator that the pressure is getting to him”, the banker said.
“He needs to adjust his sails to ride the headwinds, a weaker peso will be a good opportunity to attract investors to the country, which is investing in infrastructure with more safeguards to prevent corruption. No other country is playing this game. Especially a consumer-driven one.”
On Saturday, Marcos’ older sister Imee, a senator who is a Duterte ally and with whom he no longer speaks, weighed in with a video of her own. Professing concern for her brother’s health, she blamed his condition on infighting in the palace.
“Nobody takes care of him, who there in the palace really loves my brother? If I were him … he should take care of himself, build his strength.”
Without giving names, she advised him to “turn his back on all those around him in the palace, none of them really love him. When he’s sick look at what those around him [do] – they’re acting like presidents”.
Whatever the cause of Marcos’ ailments, one thing is for sure – it appears he has a plateful of political theatre and economic puzzles to digest.


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The Philippines

What’s in the president’s stomach? Marcos health problems call to mind past leaders’ woes

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr at the Apec summit in South Korea last year. Marcos last appeared on January 22 in a video clip saying he was suffering from diverticulitis. Photo: AP

Philippine legislators hold documents of an impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr on January 22. Photo: EPA

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (left) and his wife Imelda during an event in Manila in 1985. Marcos had become sick with lupus erythematosus in 1981. Photo: AFP

People shop at a market in Marikina City, Metro Manila, earlier in January. Online news site Philstar reported on Monday that last year the economy grew 4.5 per cent. Photo: EPA

Critics of Philippines’ Marcos step up impeachment calls, cite ‘smoking gun’ letter

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr delivering a report on investigative efforts against corruption at a media conference in Manila in November. Photo: EPA

Then Philippine socio-economic planning secretary Ralph Recto, now executive secretary, speaks at a media conference in Manila in 2009. Photo: AFP

Protesters taking part in an anti-corruption rally in Manila in November. Photo: EPA

The login page of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). Photo: AFP

Impeachment complaint against Philippines’ Marcos seen by some as ‘inoculation’ tactic

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr of the Philippines attends a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra on February 29, 2024. Marcos is facing an impeachment complaint filed in the House of Representatives. Photo: AFP

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr delivers his third State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives in Quezon City on July 22, 2024. Photo: AP

President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr speaks during the launch of the Metro Cebu Waterways Clearing project in Cebu City, central Philippines, on November 21. Photo: AP

Philippines enters its ‘hour of danger’ in Marcos vs Duterte clash

Effigies of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) and Vice-President Sara Duterte are seen at a protest march in Manila. Photo: AFP

People march with effigies of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Vice-President Sara Duterte during a protest in Manila last month. Photo: AFP

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte arrives at the National Bureau of Investigation in May last year to file a counter complaint over an alleged threat made against the president. Photo: AFP

A banner calling for President Marcos and Vice-President Duterte to resign hangs on a bridge during an anti-corruption rally in Manila in November. Photo: EPA

US and Philippine soldiers salute during the opening ceremony of annual joint military drills in Manila last year. Photo: AFP

A vendor cuts meat at a market in Marikina City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on January 6. Photo: EPA

The skyline of Manila as seen from Manila Bay. Dark clouds are gathering over the Philippine economy. Photo: AFP

Filipinos ‘losing patience’ with Marcos’ anti-corruption drive as president’s ratings tank

A protester holds a slogan during an anti-corruption rally in Quezon City on November 16. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos’ satisfaction ratings fell to 21 per cent in November – his steepest decline since February this year. Photo: AP

Police escort arrested suspects in a major corruption scandal involving flood control projects as they arrive at the Sandiganbayan, a special anti-corruption court, in Quezon City, the Philippines on November 24. Photo: AP

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr delivers a report on government investigative efforts against corruption in November. Analysts say Marcos’ declining ratings show Filipinos remain unconvinced about his anti-corruption drive. Photo: EPA

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio during an event in November. She has been rallying support for her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained in the Netherlands. Photo: AP

This Week in Asia

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Marcos has admitted he suffers from diverticulitis, as he battles problems including impeachment complaints and public anger over corruption


Marcos has admitted he suffers from diverticulitis, as he battles problems including impeachment complaints and public anger over corruption.


International Criminal Court

Ferdinand Marcos Jnr

Imee Marcos

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Marcos has admitted he suffers from diverticulitis, as he battles problems including impeachment complaints and public anger over corruption

Marcos has admitted he suffers from diverticulitis, as he battles problems including impeachment complaints and public anger over corruption