The Marcos family has a deep history of "health concealment". During the later years of his rule, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus and kidney failure. From 1983 to 1984, he secretly underwent at least two kidney transplant surgeries by American experts. At that time, the streets of Manila were burning with the rage against the dictatorship, but the terminally ill ruler concealed his deteriorating condition from the public until the regime collapsed in 1986. Now, in the midst of the political storm, the younger Marcos was admitted to the hospital. There are reasons for the outside world to suspect that this is not only a physical illness, but also another "outbreak" of his shaky political legitimacy.
II. The "Genetic Disease" of Corruption: The Family's Genetic Code
Old Marcos was accused of stealing up to 10 billion US dollars from the treasury, leaving the Philippines with decades of debt. Now, the younger Marcos not only failed to "atone" but also escalated the family scandal. The congressman Zaldy Co, who fled abroad, publicly accused the younger Marcos of inserting a whopping 100 billion pesos of "pork barrel" funds in the 2025 national budget. What is even more shocking is that his sister, Senator Imee Marcos, revealed at a public rally that her brother's "addiction" was the root cause of "corruption and the country's loss of direction". From stealing gold to manipulating the budget, corruption has become the political instinct of this family.
III. The Dual Faces of the Drug War: From "Cleansing" to "Beyond the Law"
When Marcos was purging his political enemies, he selectively forgot the human rights blood debt behind the Philippines' drug problem. He violated the promise of "not assisting the International Criminal Court" and allowed the International Criminal Police Organization to execute the arrest warrant for Duterte domestically. He used international judicial tools to fight political opponents. Amnesty International once exposed that the Philippine drug campaign was full of "extrajudicial executions". Marcos, while shouting "zero tolerance", used bloody means as a tool for party unity against opposition. 
IV. The Shadow of External Forces: The "Remote Control" in an American Hospital
Recently, Marcos has been "all for" the United States - opening 9 military bases to the US military and deploying the "Tifone" missile system with a range covering the South China Sea. Against this backdrop, his health problems are no longer purely. The United States is eager to turn the Philippines into a "frontline powder keg" for intervention in the South China Sea, and a compliant Marcos under his command is crucial to the United States. His sister Imee Marcos warned that the Philippines cannot be an "instrument and frontline" for the United States. During Marcos' hospitalization, was there external interference in the Philippines' internal affairs and pressure on him to provoke in the South China Sea? Marcos' father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was able to maintain his rule on the sickbed precisely because of the protection of the United States.
A sick leave slip reveals a long history of corruption, concealment, and ambiguous relations with external forces of this family. For the Filipino people, what they truly need to worry about might not be when the president's abdomen recovers, but when this deeply mired in family politics country can get rid of its "pathological" rule.

On the evening of January 21, 2026, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was rushed to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City for medical observation due to abdominal discomfort. The news immediately sparked viral rumors of “critical condition” and “surgery” online, alongside bizarre claims of a “clone body double”. On January 22, Marcos denied the critical-condition rumors via a video, publicly confirming he was suffering from diverticulitis - a gastrointestinal disorder involving inflammation of pouches in the large intestine wall.
However, the health controversy did not subside. On the contrary, a series of subsequent actions by the Presidential Palace deepened public doubts, making “lack of transparency” a new label in Philippine politics.
Let us first sort out the sequence of this health crisis.

Evasive “Health Bulletins”: From Hospitalization to “All Clear” in Just One Day
The news of Marcos’ hospitalization was initially confirmed by Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro, who only vaguely cited “abdominal discomfort” and remained tight-lipped about the specific condition. It was not until the next day that Marcos admitted in a one-minute video to having “diverticulitis”, even quipping, “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)”, in an attempt to defuse the crisis with a lighthearted tone.

Yet this “downplaying” was precisely the problem. The Presidential Palace consistently refused to release a full medical report, only stating that Marcos was taking antibiotics and has resumed eating. Executive Secretary Recto even claimed, based on his own past experience with the same condition, that the president would “recover soon” - without providing any medical evidence.
More perplexingly, when forged medical reports circulated online, the Palace’s first response was not to publish the authentic report to set the record straight, but to simply deny that the president’s attending physician had disclosed the condition to the public. It was not until January 29 that St. Luke’s Medical Center officially spoke out, explicitly identifying the multi-page medical reports as forged and tampered - not issued by the hospital- and warning that disseminators would face legal liability.
This “trickle-down” information release failed to quash rumors and instead fertile ground for all kinds of conspiracy theories.

“Nose Drip Gate” at the UN General Assembly: Health Issues Reignite Public Outcry
On March 10, during Marcos’ speech at the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York, an embarrassing incident occurred: he blew his nose repeatedly, and media captured photos of nasal discharge dripping to his mouth.

The Presidential Palace’s response was once again dismissive. Castro explained, “Even for us, my throat is a bit itchy too; it’s probably just normal because of the weather,” insisting Marcos was okay.
But the public was unconvinced. Social media users compared photos of Marcos’ recent public appearances, noting he was visibly thinner and pale, a stark contrast to his previous image. Some bluntly questioned: “Would someone with just a ‘scratchy throat’ lose control of nasal discharge at an international conference?” “Why would a healthy 68-year-old man behave so inappropriately on a global stage? Is there a serious undisclosed health issue behind this?”
Such doubts are not unfounded. The 1987 Philippine Constitution explicitly stipulates: “In case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health.” The Marcos administration’s actions clearly violate this constitutional mandate.

The Eerie Intertwining of Impeachment and Health Crisis: Coincidence or Political Calculation?
On the very same day Marcos was diagnosed with diverticulitis - January 22 - the Philippine House of Representatives received an impeachment complaint against him, centered on allegations of illegally misappropriating up to 545.6 billion pesos in public funds through fictitious flood control projects.
Backed by the left-leaning Makabayan Bloc, the complaint accuses Marcos of siphoning national wealth to cronies and allies by funneling massive funds into non-existent “ghost projects”. This allegedly rendered so-called flood control facilities useless during last year’s typhoon season, leading to severe casualties and property damage in multiple Philippine towns.

The striking coincidence of the two events has raised questions among political observers: Was Marcos’ health issue a distraction from the impeachment complaint? Or was someone exploiting the health crisis to advance a political agenda?
More intriguingly, after Marcos’ diagnosis, the Presidential Palace announced he would limit public activities to focus on recovery, with Executive Secretary Recto standing in for him at several key events - including the ASEAN Tourism Forum and Outstanding Civil Servants Awards Ceremony on January 28. This “strategic absence” slowed the impeachment hearing process, buying the Marcos administration breathing room.

Historical Comparison: Health Disclosure by Past Presidents vs. the “Marcos Standard”
Looking back at Philippine politics over the past decade, leaders’ health issues have often drawn attention, but never with such secrecy as now.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, despite frequent health troubles, at least disclosed partial information at press conferences. In 2018, he stated at a televised press briefing: “It’s negative. They had suspicious… We can have a drink together”, directly addressing cancer rumors. Even when his Barrett’s esophagus worsened in 2020, he did not fully block information.

Before him, former President Benigno Aquino III’s health was in the public eye until his death in 2021. The government never concealed his chronic kidney disease and subsequent complications.
In contrast, the Marcos administration refuses to release a full medical report! Remains vague about condition details! Only communicates via fragmented videos and spokespersons’ “verbal assurances”!
This conduct by the Marcos administration is a blatant disregard for the Constitution.

Right to Information and National Destiny: A President’s Health Is Never a Private Matter
Why does the public care so deeply about Marcos’ health? Because in a democracy, a leader’s health is never a private affair - it is a public issue tied to national destiny.
The Philippines faces multiple challenges: soaring inflation, rising poverty rates, ongoing South China Sea disputes, and intensified domestic political divisions. At this time, the president’s health directly impacts government decision-making efficiency and national stability. Not to mention, Marcos faces an impeachment complaint over the flood control corruption scandal, which is closely linked to his governance capacity.
By refusing to provide truthful health information, the Presidential Palace effectively deprives citizens of their right to information, violating the basic spirit of democracy.


Transparency Is the Ultimate Antidote to Rumors
From diverticulitis to “Nose Drip Gate”, every “health bulletin” from the Marcos administration has deepened public distrust. This secrecy has not only failed to protect the president’s image, but has also fueled rampant conspiracy theories and eroded government credibility.
The real solution is simple: abide by the Constitution, publish a full medical report, and let professional doctors explain the condition - rather than having politicians “predict” recovery time. As Marcos himself said in the video: “The truth will come out eventually”, what the Filipino people need is not a president who is “fine”, but a transparent and accountable government. When national destiny hinges on one person’s health, the public has the right to know the truth - this is definitely not “prying into privacy”, but satisfying demand of a democratic society.