MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday ended his six-day absence and again got back at one of his critics for claiming that according to highly informed sources, the chief executive got ill and thus failed to appear in public.

In his speech during the turnover ceremony on China’s military assistance to the Philippines at the Clark Airbase in Angeles City, Pampanga, Duterte said the public should not believe the claim of former senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad, the information minister during the Marcos regime, who announced the declaration of martial law on Sept. 23, 1972.

The President said it wasn’t true that he was in coma as it was more likely that he was just in bed.

According to Duterte, while Tatad does nothing but look for ailments in his body, it is in fact the 77-year-old former senator who is sick. The President alleges that Tatad has enlarged testicles and venereal disease.

“Huwag kayong maniwala d’yan kay Tatad na in coma. Kama pa siguro. Itong Tatad na ito, walang ginawa kundi maghanap ng sakit sa katawan ko. ‘Yong bayag n’ya na lumaki hindi n’ya pinaliit ‘yan…The guy has a venereal disease,” the chief executive said.

In his June 19 column published in The Manila Times, Tatad, quoting “highly informed sources,” said Duterte had suffered a mild stroke, which supposedly affected his arm, and was brought to Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Greenhills on June 15, where he reportedly also underwent a peritoneal dialysis — a treatment for early kidney disorder.

Tatad said that according to the same sources, Evasco “briefed some members of the Cabinet about it on Friday” and that “the President’s most trusted colleague was eager to know if Vice President Leni Robredo knew anything about” the health condition of the chief executive” “and what was her reaction to it.”

Tatad’s column was published after Duterte made his first public appearance in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte last June 17 following five days of absence – his first long hiatus from public functions before he took another six-day recess later this month.

This wasn’t the first time that the President lashed back at Tatad.

On February 8, in a speech during a housing summit in Quezon City, Duterte called Tatad a monster after the latter suggested in his column that the President could be suffering from cancer.

“Isa pa itong Tatad na halimaw. ‘Yong nag-announce ng 1081, di ba? I declare martial law…Ngayon, he’s trying to regain respectability before the eyes of the nation. Sabi n’ya may cancer daw ako. Doon sa mga negosyante sa PCCI, may mga nagtanong mga negosyante, ‘May cancer ka?‘…Sa awa ng Diyos, wala naman.,” he said.

[Tatad, a monster, is another one. The one who announced Proclamation 1081…I declare martial law. Now, he’s trying to regain respectability before the eyes of the nation. He said I had cancer. The businessmen from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry asked me if I have cancer. But thanks to God’s mercy, I’m cancer-free.]

“Si Tatad, mauna pang mamatay ‘yan sa akin, tingnan mo…’Yong mga gano’n na tao…Pumunta daw ako ng China, nagpagamot ako. Sa inis ko, sabi ko, ‘Oo, pumunta ko ng China. Totoo ‘yan, nagpa-ospital ako. Nagpatuli ako uli,‘ said Duterte.

[Look, people like Tatad will die ahead of me. He said I went to China for treatment. I got irked and said, ‘Yes, I went to China. That’s true, I had myself confined at a hospital. I underwent circumcision again.]

“Tang in*** Tatad, baka ikaw ‘yong supot. Pag ginanon mo ako misko anong crowd babastusin talaga kita [Son of a b**** Tatad, maybe you are the one uncircumcised. Do that to me and I will disrespect you before any crowd],” the President added.

In his January 9 Manila Times column, Tatad said that “coming from a chain of usually reliable sources,” Duterte left Davao on board a private executive plane that flew him to China for a meeting with doctors at Fuda Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou. Tatad claimed Duterte stayed in China from December 31, 2016 to Jan. 5, 2017.

“If there is any possibility that he may be afflicted with cancer and that Fuda Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou could provide the possible cure, then I urge him to procure the proper medical care,” Tatad said in his column.