On Noynoy's mental health

MANILA, Philippines - The April 24th column of Ms Carmen Pedrosa “Clincher” requires a direct, straightforward response if only to uphold the oft repeated principle that a columnist is entitled to her opinions but she is not entitled to her own facts. Neither is she entitled to fallacies, innuendos and contradictions.

Ms Pedrosa writes “The stories about Noynoy’s mental illness...must be proved...We must look at the issue closely and not be satisfied with mere gossip but seek to establish the facts..”

Then starting with the very next paragraph she devotes her entire column to hearsay, rumors, insinuations based on no substantial or even factual basis.

Her story is this: Idle talk spun into a long, rambling defamatory anecdote resting on an alleged comment by Ninoy Aquino in the early eighties that his son is “walang ka-drive, drive.” That is all.

From this single unconfirmed statement supposedly made by Ninoy more than a quarter of a century ago, Ms Pedrosa makes the incredible conclusion that “because of his mental problems . . . Noynoy needs help.”

Ms Pedrosa offers no authentic evidence to support her conclusion. Her purported resource persons who will corroborate her personal judgment are unidentified, dead or incapacitated.

To put an end to this contrived issue of Noynoy Aquino’s mental health, let me as a licensed physician with twenty one years of experience state, and in this case, re-state the veracity and accuracy of this medical fact:

According to the established clinical diagnostic criteria affirmed by the American Psychiatric Association in the authoritative manual DSM-IV, Noynoy Aquino suffers from no mental disease, disorder, or dysfunction. He is perfectly fit to carry out the duties of the Philippine presidency.

It is convenient for the black propagandists to pathologize normal, every day emotional reactions such as sadness, anger, shyness, annoyance, and label them as symptoms of depression or distress. But there is no medical basis or clinical justification for such labels.

They are, in a word, fallacious.

Ms Pedrosa’s own half brother suffered from clear symptoms of sociophobia as a boy but he outgrew them and he developed into a reasonably normal young man.

The study of personality development is a complex discipline and false generalizations abound. More than a few members of the CCP board to which Ms Pedrosa has been recently appointed by her patron, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo believe that Ms Pedrosa may have some personality problems herself. Such suspicions however require objective proof.

I ask Ms Pedrosa to abide by her column’s opening statements. Mere gossip is not enough. This should be proved.

Let me close with a verbatim quotation from the same column of Ms Pedrosa which accurately describes herself and the political interests she serves: ”We must save our country from vultures who will feast on the carcasses of a doomed country. They are willing to sacrifice everything and everyone for the sake of their ambitions.”

Well said, Ms Pedrosa. It gives sanity to your opinion piece.