After President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. disclosed that he has been diagnosed with diverticulitis, a document purportedly showing his medical test results started circulating online. This is fabricated.
On Jan. 28, Facebook pages and users began sharing a purported medical report bearing St. Luke’s Medical Center’s logo. The document, dated Jan. 25, names the president as the patient and Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist and head of SLMC‘s Liver Disease and Transplant Center, as requesting physician.
The document further read:
“IMPRESSION:
Severe sigmoid diverticulitis with perforation and extensive mesenteric phlegmon, indicating clinical deterioration — urgent consultation recommended (e.g., for possible Harmann’s procedure or percutaneous drainage).
Colonic obstruction or partial structure from inflammation.
Absent LEFT kidney status post donor nephrectomy, and unchanged small RIGHT renal cyst.
Mild hepatomegaly without focal pathology.
Mild fatty involution of the pancreas.
Atherosclerotic vascular disease (mild abdominal aortic and branch vessel calcifications).
Osteoporosis, degenerative osseous and disk changes.”
This is fake. Both the Presidential Communications Office and SLMC have disowned the circulating medical result.
On the day the document circulated, SLMC’s official FB page posted a statement, calling it “fake and falsified.”
A portion of its advisory read:
“Any medical results or documents obtained, posted, shared or circulated outside these authorized channels are considered unauthorized, fraudulent, or falsified. The posting or sharing of a patient’s medical information by anyone other than the patient constitutes a breach of data privacy and is a violation of hospital policy and applicable laws.”
The PCO also posted a statement denying the supposed medical report, which “does not reflect the president’s health.”
On Jan. 29, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Malacañang is expecting the National Bureau of Investigation to find out who is behind the fabricated medical report.
The fake document circulated six days after Castro announced that Marcos had returned to Malacañang after spending the night in a hospital after experiencing discomfort.
On the same day, the PCO posted a video of Marcos addressing rumors about his health and confirming that he had been diagnosed with diverticulitis. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, diverticulitis is “a condition that occurs when small pouches, or sacs, form and push outward through weak spots in the wall of the colon.”
Marcos stressed that his condition is not life-threatening as he dismissed rumors of his death as highly exaggerated. He, however, confirmed skipping some scheduled events to consult with his doctors but said he is now doing well.
On Jan. 29, Marcos attended the ceremonial handover of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Business Advisory Council chairship for 2026 at Malacañang Palace.
VERA Files has debunked other disinformation related to the president’s health.
Six copies of the fake report posted by FB users and pages such as Kababayan PH (created on Oct. 17, 2021 as Wie83 Creation), Cebu Flash Report (July 5, 2017 as Cebu Flash Report V2) and Taga Ormoc Daily (Dec. 10, 2016) collectively garnered 1,501 reactions; 980 comments; and 332 shares.
