This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has cut short his trip to Japan, citing unbearable pain in his spinal column after a motorcycle accident.
The 74-year-old president, who has been suffering from various health issues, including an autoimmune disease and migraines, was scheduled to attend the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo.
However, Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo announced on Tuesday that the president would leave Japan sooner than planned, having attended the ceremony earlier in the day.
"The palace announces that the president will cut short his trip to Japan due to unbearable pain in his spinal column near the pelvic bone," Panelo said in a statement.
Duterte's health has been a subject of intense speculation since he took office in 2016, with the president at times skipping events and meetings or discussing his various ailments in long and rambling speeches.
He has previously said he used to take fentanyl, a potent opioid painkiller, due to a spinal injury caused by motorcycle accidents when he was younger.
According to Duterte, his doctor made him stop using fentanyl after learning he was "abusing the drug" by using more than the prescribed patches.
The president will see his neurologist on Wednesday after flying back to Manila late Tuesday, while his daughter Sara Duterte Carpio will represent him at the emperor's banquet.
