Press Release
February 14, 2016

Drilon backs calls for 2016 bets to bare health records

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today threw his support behind calls for 2016 candidates to disclose their medical and health records, saying that doing so would aid the electorate in choosing the next set of leaders who can best serve the country.

"In the spirit of transparency and in the best interest of our people, I support the call for the candidates to release their medical and health records," said Drilon, a re-electionist senatorial candidate under the administration's Liberal Party.

The four-time Senate President said that 2016 aspirants, most particularly those running for the highest position, "owe it to voting public to fully disclose their physical capacity to fully perform the mandates they are seeking."

"We are electing a president who will lead us in the next six years. Without referring to anyone, we cannot afford to have a leader who will eventually be hospitalized because of poor health condition, which we have not been previously made aware of," Drilon said.

While the former Justice Secretary noted that the Constitution and the country's election laws do not require the disclosure of medical records of candidates for public office, Drilon said that they can take the initiative in presenting their medical records to the public "in the spirit of transparency."

"It is not a requirement under our Constitution but I believe that we owe this vital information to our electorate whose trust and confidence we seek," Drilon stressed.

"If in ordinary job interviews, applicants have to disclose their work experience, public records, and medical information, then why should people who seek to occupy the highest political position in the land be exempted from this?" Drilon emphasized.

He cited how the candidates' state of health is a major issue in the United States, wherein almost all the candidates had voluntarily revealed their health records.

"The state of our candidates' health matters to the voters. It is such a serious concern that the voters should take into consideration in the coming election," Drilon said.

He further said that the availability of such information will help voters to select the next batch of leaders in the country.

"Running the country is a tedious task. That is why it is important that those we will elect are up for the demands of the job and physically fit to carry out their mandates," Drilon concluded.

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