‘Duterte signing papers, not confined in hospital’

Bloomberg

President Rodrigo Duterte is in his residence at the presidential palace in Manila signing papers, his spokesman said, denying that the Philippine leader was confined in a hospital.
“I just talked to him,” spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. “He’s neither confirming nor denying that he went to the hospital,” the spokesman said. ABS-CBN News said in a report citing social media posts that Duterte was in a hospital in Metro Manila and that the medical center was under tight security.
Duterte’s former aide Bong Go shared a photo of the leader sitting at a table and holding Sunday’s copy of The Philippine Star newspaper. Sara Duterte, mayor of Davao City, said she hadn’t received any report that her father was ill, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
The 74-year-old president has long complained of suffering from Barrett’s esophagus — an inflammation of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach — and said in October last year that he took tests to rule out a serious illness such as cancer.
Duterte had previously acknowledged having migraine headaches and spinal issues.