Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison on Tuesday said he was pleased to know that President Rodrigo Duterte is alive so he can still be held accountable for his crimes and be tried by the international court.

President Rodrigo Duterte was seen on Facebook live taken by Special Assistant to the President Bong Go on Monday evening and debunked Sison’s social media post that the President was comatose.

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The President was seen having dinner with a female companion supposedly in Davao City.

“If the video showing Duterte hotel-dating a young woman was really recorded on Monday night (Davao time), I am pleased to see that Duterte is still alive and that there is a chance of his living long enough to be held accountable for his crimes against the people and be tried by the people´s court or by the International Court of Justice,” Sison said.

“Unlike him, I do not have any death wish for Duterte. In fact, I wish him to live long enough to receive a warrant of arrest, unlike the so many thousands of victims of Oplans Tokhang and Kapayapaan,” he added.

The communist leader clarified that he never claimed that the comatose report was true and said the President should be happy that he was given a chance to prove that the circulating information was not true.

“With regard to the report that Duterte was comatose in the afternoon or evening of Sunday, August 19, I never claimed it to be certainly true but I cautioned the readers of my Facebook Timeline that the report is subject to verification or negation by the public appearance of Duterte and by credible medical bulletin,” he said.

But Sison also insisted that the Chief Executive appeared sickly in his latest video appearance: “I am also gratified that the aforesaid video shows Duterte truly looking very tired and dispirited, his face still very dark and his right eye drooping . He looks like he just came from dialysis or some other kind of treatment on Sunday.”

“His video appearance somehow confirms the report that on Saturday, August 18 his face was darker than usual and that he was slow and unstable while shaking hands with his Lex Talionis fraternity brods. The video indicates that Duterte suffers from some serious illness, such as the aggravation of his self-admitted Buerger´s disease and/or his kidney problem due to frequent use of pain killers, including fentanyl,” he added.

Sison also said that Duterte’s conflicting statements about him only reveal his poor mental and moral condition. He cited the President’s claims that he was sick and dying, but still wishes him to live for a thousand years.

Sison said he is also alleged by the military to living a luxurious life in The Netherlands but the President claims he frequently visits the hospital as a charity patient. The President also invites him to come home and talk peace but sometimes threatens him that he will be put to jail when he returns. /muf

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