President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is well and busy with his duties the whole day, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said Tuesday.

“From my perspective as a physician, the President performed all his duties today and was well and not under the weather as earlier surmised,” Herbosa said in a statement.

Herbosa issued the clarification, after he initially said Marcos was “under the weather” following his birthday celebration last week.

Herbosa’s initial statement was in response to a query during a Palace press briefing as to why Marcos was wearing a face mask during a sectoral meeting at Malacañan Palace in Manila in the morning.

“He’s just under the weather. So, I suppose, it was his birthday last week, sa dami nang bumati sa kaniya (there were plenty of people who greeted him). I’m sure someone passed him a bad bug,” he said.

Marcos used a face mask only during the sectoral meeting and removed it during his other engagements at the Palace, Herbosa said.

Apart from the sectoral meeting, Marcos attended the ceremonial endorsement of the Public Financial Management Reform Roadmap 2024-2028 and met with Marubeni Corporation president and chief executive officer Masumi Kakinoki.

“I was with the President the whole day as he conducted two meetings in the morning. I only saw him wear a face mask after the meeting and in a casual conversation with one of the secretaries after the meeting. I also saw him later in two other meetings where he delivered a speech and conducted a meeting without using a face mask,” Herbosa said.

“We should not be hastily concluding any diagnosis for anyone who wants to wear a face mask,” he added. (PNA)