Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s shocking resignation on fitness grounds has prompted President Rodrigo Duterte, who is 10 years older and concerned about many ailments, to do the same in the Philippines.
On Friday, 65-year-old Abe, who has been in office longer as Prime Minister of Japan, said he could not fulfill his mandate with confidence because he has been battling ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause ulcers on the lining of the colon and rectum, for years. Visits to a Tokyo hospital over the more than two weeks have raised hypotheses about your health.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the other Japanese people for leaving my post with a remaining year of my term, and amid the coronavirus disorders, while policies are still being implemented,” he said.
Abe’s words resonated in Asia, a region with a booming young population but with few leaders under the age of 60. Specific Filipinos have noticed parallels between the departure of Abe and Duterte, who has been criticized for the lack of leadership and visibility during the coronavirus. Outbreak.
Abe earned praise from Filipinos who said on social media that his resignation was honorable, and some said his 75-year-old leader does the same.
“Shinzo Abe, Japan’s oldest leader, is resigning over fitness issues,” Florin Hilbay, a former attorney general and failed candidate for the opposition Senate, wrote on Twitter. “In doing so, he said that a leader’s aptitude is related to the well-being of the nation. The disease affects leader judgment, market confidence, long-term planning, etc. »
“A wonderful example for others,” Hilbay added, in what many assumed as a reference to Duterte.
Duterte’s aptitude has been the subject of recurring discussions and debates, fueled by Duterte’s own statements. In August, he said a chronic illness he had, called Barrett’s esophagus, could lead to cancer.
“The doctor said not to eat fatty foods or die. You, Duterte, avoid drinking because your condition is close to level 1 of cancer,” he said in a pre-recorded televised speech.
Attendees said it was a past medical opinion and that the president is in good physical shape. Senator Bong Go, a best friend of Staunch Duterte, who is not a doctor, argued that the president was in good physical shape and had no illness.
“Who at 75 doesn’t feel any pain or illness in their body?” he said in a statement, urging the public to engage in unproductive rumors.
Aging leaders
Southeast Asian governments are largely run by elderly heads of state, usually men.
In February 2020, Mahathir Mohamad, 94, resigned as Malaysia’s prime minister after the world’s longest-time leader when he surprisingly won the May 2018 election.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 68, survived cancer and in 2016 fainted while delivering his speech live.
Aung San Suu Kyi, re-elected in Myanmar in November, is 75 years old and has no obvious successor in his party, the National League for Democracy.
Even possible Abe replacements are between 63 and 71 years old. Abe’s right-hand man, Yoshide Suga, 71, is the favorite for the position.
Singapore-based political observer and law professor Eugene Tan said age was a political issue and that, in many cases, young people were at a disadvantage.
“While we shouldn’t be essential about this phenomenon (as culture explains why), some societies are likely to be patriarchal and age and gender are points that can be vital in politics,” Tan told VICE News.
“Alum students might prefer to hold public office; in fact, there are qualities that an older user brings. In some parts of Asia, as well as in other parts of the world, however, age discrimination can obstruct the choice of other young people as leaders.
‘Really tired’
Under the Philippine constitution, the public will have to be informed about the president’s physical condition through qualified announcements through their doctor or fitness secretary, but that was not Duterte’s case.
Last month, rumors of a medical scale in Singapore swirled amid its prolonged disappearance from the public eye. In 2018, Duterte was rumored to have seen a doctor in a Manila hospital after skipping a public event. His assistants denied the stopover at the hospital, yet Duterte himself proved that he had gone to the hospital for tests.
In 2019, Duterte skipped at least 8 times for “not being good” and “being indisposed. “
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday (September 3) that the president “is fine. “He did not say whether the leader had undergone a recent medical examination.
In an obvious attempt to dispel fitness rumors, Duterte made a public appearance on Friday, August 31, when he leaked the explosion of a double bombing in Jolo, Sulu, which killed several people.
At Jolo, Duterte spoke to the army troops stationed there to comfort them. Most of those affected were soldiers. He presented flowers, prayers, knelt down and kissed the ground. But critics dismissed the appearance of mere theaters.
Ela Atienza, professor of political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, believes Duterte will complete her six-year term in 2022.
“I think at this point I probably wouldn’t give up. We can’t expect him to be like Abe. He’s a very proud man,” Atienza told VICE News. “Unless some illness leaves him completely bedridly and other sectors/institutions will make him quit. “
But even if tension rises for Duterte to resign, his allies in any of the legislature’s chambers are supermathering. Atienza also noted that if Duterte makes the decision to stick to Abe, he will cede strength to a key opposition figure, Vice President Leni Robredo. .
In the Philippines, the president and vice president are elected separately. In history, vice presidents come from opposing parties.
“The president would possibly also be reluctant to cede strength in a pandemic era when he still claims a truly extensive legacy or major achievements,” Atienza added.
But Duterte’s own words would possibly be the most productive clues of what he’s doing.
“I probably wouldn’t be president for so long. . . it’s just behind the scenes and my end will come,” he said in a televised showdown about his third year in the workplace last year. “Actually, I’m tired, actually tired. “”