The camp of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Sunday night maintained that the presidential aspirant was really unwell before and during the Commission on Elections (Comelec) hearing on the disqualification petitions against him after social media users refuted his medical certificate.
In a statement, lawyer Vic Rodriguez, Marcos Jr.'s spokesman, said Marcos Jr. was really unwell on Jan. 6, but he still granted two interviews, which eventually "exacerbated his condition."
These included the now viral radio interview that Marcos Jr. attended, which social media users use to question his medical condition.
According to Rodriguez, that radio interview worsened Marcos Jr.'s health condition, that was why he failed to show up in Comelec's hearing the next day, Jan. 7.
"On the morning of January 6, 2022, BBM (Bongbong Marcos) proceeded with his scheduled morning interview despite feeling unwell. After the interview, his physician arrived and determined that he had a fever and throat swelling. BBM was instructed to take a midday rest," Rodriguez said.
"Mid-afternoon, however, he (Marcos Jr.) went on with another radio interview. We believe it was that afternoon interview which exacerbated his condition," he added.
Rodriguez said Marcos Jr. was only obliged to go on isolation the next day after—the day he was expected to attend the Comelec hearing—"because his condition worsened."
"A judgment call was made to let BBM continue with his needed rest, since he was in bed after taking his medicines," he added.
Marcos Jr.'s camp's statement came after a Jan. 6 radio interview he attended went viral on social media.
Social media users questioned his actual health condition when his physician stated in his medical certificate that Marcos Jr. was having speaking difficulty due to "a painfully congested throat" and fever that was why he could not attend the Comelec hearing even online.