EDITORIAL - A matter of national security

For ordinary citizens, health is a private matter. For the president of the Philippines, health is a national security concern. The nation’s chief executive must be physically and mentally fit to govern, and if he or she is incapacitated, the Constitution provides detailed rules on succession.

President Arroyo, whose credibility has often been questioned, should avoid adding the state of her health to a growing list of issues where her administration has been less than forthcoming. Yesterday Malacañang officials announced that the President had undergone biopsies for masses in her breast and groin. The masses were detected during a check-up that she underwent at the Asian Hospital shortly before her departure for her latest overseas trip. The biopsies were conducted upon her return, and the tests showed the masses were benign.

That was the word from Malacañang as of yesterday. The health bulletins were issued only after newspaper articles mentioned the true purpose of the President’s stay at the Asian Hospital, which the Palace had initially described as self-quarantine — a precautionary measure against the spread of Influenza A(H1N1). The President, Malacañang officials said, wanted to set an example to the citizenry in dealing with the flu threat.

She should set an example in honesty, at least about the state of her health. The President is a regular visitor to hospitals, occasionally staying overnight, fueling speculation about her health problems. So far Malacañang has said the President suffers from a fatty liver, which is not debilitating if confronted properly. Cancer — which is detected through a biopsy — could be debilitating even if diagnosed early.

During the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, there was a lot of speculation about his failing health. Even after he was forced into exile, Filipinos could only guess his affliction from the medical equipment he had left behind at Malacañang. It is said that former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. might not have been assassinated if Marcos was not bedridden with lupus and was in full control at the time.

Presidents, by the nature of their job, must give up a measure of privacy, particularly when it comes to the state of their health. The public has a right to know if the nation’s highest official is fit to govern.