Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana fainted while attending the flag raising ceremony at the Luneta Park in Manila for the celebration of the 124th Independence Day on Sunday morning, June 12.
Photos taken by the Manila Bulletin showed Lorenzana being carried out on a stretcher onto an ambulance.
In a statement, the DND said fatigue and extreme temperature may have caused Lorenzana to collapse.
It turned out that Lorenzana had just arrived from Singapore around 1 a.m. after attending the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue before he proceeded to Luneta Park for the Independence Day rites.
"The SND just arrived from Singapore early this morning after attending the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue and meeting with his foreign counterparts. The Secretary also traveled recently to South Korea and other parts of the Philippines, while overseeing the defense operations of the country and transition to a new administration," said DND Spokesperson Arsenio Andolong.
"His hectic schedule during the last few weeks and the extreme temperatures in Luneta earlier today may have resulted in his fatigue," he added.
Nonetheless, Andolong said Lorenzana was already in a stable condition and was advised to rest and recover.
DND Head Executive Assistant Peter Paul Galvez said Lorenzana was already conscious.
"He is okay now. He's in a hospital right now," Galvez said while refusing to disclose the name of the hospital.
In a Facebook post hours after the incident, Lorenzana thanked those who expressed well-wishes to him.
"The fatigue from my recent successive international security engagements may have taken its toll on me. Tapos napakainit pa sa Luneta kanina (And then the temperature in Luneta was too high. But as the saying goes, a true soldier always gets up quickly after a fall," Lorenzana said.
I’m fine now. Just resting since the results of the tests conducted earlier are okay. I'm deeply moved by your concern and well wishes. Thank you and God bless us all," the 73-year-old Defense chief added.