MORE presidential candidates on Friday said they supported psychiatric testing for all aspirants to national elective positions as talk of the mental health of presidential frontrunner Benigno Aquino III persisted on the campaign trail.
If anyone wanted to serve the country, he or she should not be hiding any sickness, said Bagumbayan standard bearer Senator Richard Gordon, who supports mandatory medical and psychiatric testing for all presidential, vice presidential and senatorial candidates.
Another presidential aspirant, evangelist Eddie Villanueva of Bangon Pilipinas, said that in addition to the psychiatric test, candidates should also take a lie-detector test to check the truthfulness and transparency of their statements and sign a waiver allowing the public to examine their bank accounts.
Psychiatric testing became a campaign issue after the ABS-CBN network reported receiving a bogus document, supposedly from the Ateneo de Manila University Psychology Department, detailing Aquino’s treatment for a nervous disorder in 1996. The school denied preparing or issuing the report, and Aquino has dismissed it as black propaganda.
The network later revealed that it received the report from Nacionalista sources, a claim the party vigorously disputed.
Aquino’s closest rival, Nacionalista Party standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr., declined to comment on Aquino’s mental state Friday.
In an interview with the ANC cable news channel, Villar was asked if he doubted Aquino’s psychological state.
I don’t want to comment on that, Villar said. “I’ll let the people decide. I mean... It’s very important. It’s the presidency we’re talking about. This is the number one position. It’s a decision that affects hundreds of millions of Filipinos. You’ll be the commander in chief of the Armed Forces, and there should be no question as to your psychological state.”
Villar’s running mate, Senator Loren Legarda, said psychiatric and medical tests would help determine if candidates were emotionally, physically and psychologically capable of leading the nation.
On Thursday, deposed President Joseph Estrada said he was willing to undergo a psychiatric exam to show that he was sound of mind.
His offer came after Nacionalista Party senatorial bet Adel Tamano submitted himself to a psychiatric test at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital in San Juan, saying it was best to lead by example.
The Liberal Party dismissed Tamano’s move as a publicity stunt and said its candidates would not follow his example.
We do not doubt the mental state of our standard bearer and his candidates, said Edwin Lacierda, Aquino’s spokesman.
Lacierda acknowledged that it was important for the public to know the mental state of the candidates, but said forcing them to take a psychiatric test would be unconstitutional.
