Amid questions on Duterte's health, Bong Go releases photos of the president

MANILA, Philippines —Amid questions surrounding President Rodrigo Duterte’s health, his special assistant on Thursday released two photographs of the chief executive to allay concerns over his condition.

Christopher Go, special assistant to the president, shared two photos of the president as the opposition emphasized the need for the government to be transparent about Duterte’s condition.

Amid speculations about his health, Pres. Duterte seen in photos at Bahay Pagbabago just released by Sec. Bong Go. | via @alexisbromero pic.twitter.com/fwPn16CZDS

— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) June 15, 2017

Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano and Sen. Leila De Lima, two of the staunchest critics of the president, said it is the Palace's the responsibility to apprise the public about the health condition of Duterte which they said is a matter of “national security.”

“The health of the president is a national security issue especially now that we have a security crisis in Marawi and martial law in Mindanao,” Alejano said in a social media post on Thursday afternoon.

De Lima and Alejano both said that Section 12, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution obliges government officials to inform the public about the president’s state of health.

“The public needs to be fully informed. Knowing the truth about the President’s state of health is both a matter of public interest and national security,” De Lima said in her dispatch from her detention cell at Camp Crame.

De Lima is detained on charges related to her alleged involvement in the trade of illegal drugs at the national penitentiary when she was still the justice secretary of the previous administration.

In one of the photos at Bahay Pagbabago released by Go, Duterte was seen attending to some of the papers submitted to him from the Palace.

Duterte was seen posing with Go in the second photo.

In a media conference in Malacañang on Thursday morning, Ernesto Abella, the presidential spokesperson, tried to squelch rumors surrounding the president’s conspicuous absence.

Abella said that Duterte was “well.” He said that the president just needed rest although he declined to give information on when would be seen in public again.

The last time the president was seen in public was Sunday evening when he was at the arrival of the bodies of some of the soldiers who died in the clashes in Marawi City.

On Monday, Duterte skipped the Independence Day rites at Luneta, the first of during his presidency.