After hospitalization, Marcos tells critics: Don’t be too excited just yet

A day before the second and third impeachment complaints against him were filed (or at least attempts were made) before the House of Representatives, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. apprently had bigger, and more painful things occupying his mind: diverticulitis, which typically causes abdominal pain, and either constipation or diarrhea. 

“What happened was I apparently, and I now have diverticulitis. It’s a common complaint amongst apparently people who are heavily stressed and people are — I have to admit — growing old,” said Marcos in an “interview” with Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro. The transcript was later released to the media. 

Marcos spent the night at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City Wednesday evening, January 21, as a “precautionary measure after experiencing discomfort.” He has since returned to Malacañang and was in private meetings on January 22, according to Castro. 

But the coincidence — of hospitalization, no matter how quick, and just as impeachment complaints came pouring in — was not lost on many. 

“Huwag kayo muna masyadong excited dahil it’s not a life-threatening condition (Don’t be too excited yet because this isn’t a life-threatening condition),” said Marcos, when asked if he had a message to those who want him out of power. 

Diverticulitis, according to the Mayo Clinic, is when irregular bulging pouches in the wall of the large intestine become inflamed. The norm is for the walls of the large intestine to be smooth. While most people will likely develop diverticula (those pouches in the walls of the large intestine), not everyone gets symptoms. 

The formation of diverticula becomes “common” after age 50, the Mayo Clinic also noted. The Philippine president is 68. 

The first impeachment complaint was filed against Marcos on January 19 — curiously endorsed by a lawmaker who had also signed the impeachment case against the President’s erstwhile ally, Vice President Sara Duterte.

That complaint, however, has been characterized as flimsy and could be to his advantage because if it’s tackled and then rejected, he’d be shielded from impeachment for an entire year. 

The second and third complaints, while brought before the House, were supposedly not considered officially filed since House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil was out of the country. Garafil was once Marcos’ communications chief and has long been a close aide to the Marcos family. 

Marcos, often described as laid back and chill — sometimes to his own detriment — said there was no reason to worry about his health.  

He even borrowed a line from Mark Twain: “The rumors of my death are highly exaggerated.” 

Marcos has had two other documented health episodes as president — in early July 2022 or just weeks into his presidency, when he caught COVID-19. He was infected again in late 2023. 

Before being elected president in 2022, Marcos had a much more serious brush with COVID-19. In an April 2020 vlog (Marcos’ “career” after a 2016 vice presidential race loss and before winning the presidency), he slammed those who spread rumors that he had died. 

And then, of course, there’s that long-running urban legend that the “real” Marcos is long dead, and that a “clone” had since replaced him. Marcos himself had addressed those rumors in a 2012 interview and a vlog from 2019.  

But with the way politics, geopolitics, and the flood control scandal is going, maybe now would be a good time for Marcos to find that body double. – Rappler.com