Marcos challenges health rumors with jumping jacks, brief jog at palace

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met renewed health rumors with a public burst of movement at Malacañang, doing several jumping jacks before jogging briefly outside his office and daring critics to keep up. The 68-year-old president said anyone questioning his fitness should come exercise with him and see who was stronger, while his office framed the online claims as false and misleading.

Marcos said he was in very good health and that his last hospital checkup had taken place a couple of months earlier. He linked that visit to a computed axial tomography scan that showed recovery from diverticulitis, the colon inflammation that led to his hospitalization earlier this year. He said he had returned to a normal diet and exercise routine, worked out three to four times a week, and continued taking maintenance medicine for gout and high blood pressure. He also said regular blood tests and other recent medical tests had been clear, though sleep remained the one area where he still felt short.

The latest speculation revived a health episode that began on January 21, 2026, when Marcos was hospitalized for stomach pain. A day later, he disclosed in a video message that doctors had diagnosed diverticulitis and said the condition was not life-threatening. He also said physicians had told him to slow down, and Malacañang said later in January that he was limiting engagements outside the palace. As the rumors spread, viral posts on January 28 and 29 circulated fake medical documents and test results, which St. Luke’s Medical Center later said were fabricated.

The rumor campaign escalated into an official backlash. On April 9, Malacañang said it was gathering evidence and planned to file a complaint with the Department of Justice against people spreading false claims about the president’s health. Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said the posts were meant to destabilize the government, while Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Marcos was in good health and felt no discomfort. The Malacañang Press Corps also rejected allegations that reporters were being paid to conceal his condition, and the Presidential Photojournalists Association said its members had been physically present at the events in question.

The disinformation fight has also become political. On April 11, disinformation researcher Nikko Balbedina said the rumors were unusually aggressive and appeared designed both to cast Marcos as unfit and to elevate Vice President Sara Duterte as an alternative. He pointed to Reuters Institute data cited by ABS-CBN News showing Philippine trust in media at 38% in 2025, up from 20% near the end of the Duterte presidency but still low by regional standards. Duterte has not directly attacked the rumors, saying only “good luck sa kanya” when asked.

Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos also tried to project normalcy before the gym display. On April 11, they posted photos of a quiet dinner date at Finestra in Solaire Resort Entertainment City in Parañaque, with Marcos saying he had taken her out for a calm evening. Against a backdrop of tensions with China, natural disasters, economic pressure and fraught ties with Sara Duterte, the president’s public workout became more than a personal rebuttal. It was a test of whether spectacle, in a politics of suspicion, can still reset the story.