Aquino refuses psych test
What is wrong with a psychiatric test? Apparently a lot if Liberal Party standard-bearer Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino is to be asked.
This, as “Noynoy” in a public statement outrightly refused to subject himself to one. Yet if it is any consolation, Aquino would rather have a lie detector and lifestyle check.
Problem though, questions abound on Aquino’s mental state even if an earlier document stating his mental disorder had been dismissed as a hoax.
“Pasensyahan na lang (I’m sorry), but I won’t agree to that (psychiatric test),” Aquino said at a press conference.
To note, news wires burned with the latest verbal skirmish between Aquino and Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer Senator Manny Villar. Considered as front-runners for the presidency, Aquino’s mental state was questioned after a report came out claiming that “Aquino suffered from depression and sought psychiatric treatment years ago.”
“Isn’t sanity about accepting reality? There is a fake report where all those who have been [mentioned] in it have claimed it was fake and yet he will insist that I answer that?” Aquino said.
The NP has since vehemently denied being the source of the now controversial psychological report on Aquino.
NP was also first in denouncing the use of black propaganda in this election.
The party, as a rule, believes that there are far more important issues that need to be attended to than resorting to black propaganda.
At a press conference, NP senatorial candidates Gilbert Remulla, Adel Tamano, Martin Loon—stepson of detained candidate Col. Ariel Querubin—and Susan Ople called for the disclosure of the document’s source. The group said the party was “releasing” the network from any liability that may arise from the disclosure of its sources.
“Please reveal the source. The NP is telling them to reveal the source because the name of NP is being unfairly dragged. They made a very big generalization that it was the NP that came out with the report,” Remulla said.
“We are giving them the authority to please reveal the source. Release the name,” Remulla said.
“If it came from NP, we are giving them authority to do so … again we are reiterating the challenge for them to reveal (the source),” he added.
Remulla suspected that the source could be a “third or fourth party,” which would benefit from increased tension between the NP and the LP.
“It might have come from inside LP,” he added.
Meantime, news wire reported how the camp of former President Joseph Estrada has joined the call of the NP for Aquino to “come clean regarding the alleged psychiatric evaluation report.”
Dennis Carcamo of PhilStar News Service in a report said Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino spokesman Ralph Calinisan cited how the “Constitution provides that the people has the right to know the state of health of a public official.”
“Do we have to wait for Sen. Noynoy to be elected first and start exhibiting the symptoms of a mental disorder, before we demand that he declares the real state of his health?” Calinisan said.
The Aquino camp has already issued a statement claiming that the document circulating is bogus, and branding it as a black propaganda against the LP standard-bearer.
But Calinisan said they have been receiving “reliable reports” on the purported illnesses of Aquino.
“We are relieved, though, that the issue against Sen. Aquino is now out in the open and can therefore be freely discussed,” he said.
