Marcos: Cough, cold won’t slow me down

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has a cough and cold, but assured the public that his situation would not slow him down.

Marcos stopped to blow his nose during his speech at the awarding of the 2024 Outstanding Government Workers at Malacañang yesterday.

“I’m sorry, I have picked up what everybody else seems to have, which is a cough and a cold, but it will not slow me down,” the President said.

On Tuesday, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa retracted his statement that Marcos was feeling “under the weather.”

“We should not be hastily concluding any diagnosis for anyone who wants to wear a face mask. From my perspective as a physician, the President performed all his duties today and is well and not ‘under the weather’ as earlier surmised,” Herbosa said in a statement.

At a Palace press briefing on Tuesday noon, Herbosa responded to a question about the President’s health after he was seen wearing a face mask during a sectoral meeting.

“”He’s just under the weather. So I supposed, it was his birthday last week, so many greeted him, I’m sure someone passed him a bad bug,” Herbosa said.

Marcos marked his 67th birthday on Friday.