DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is in stable condition after he collapsed yesterday morning during the celebration of the 124th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine independence at the Rizal Park in Manila.
In his social media platform Facebook, Lorenzana posted a picture of him smiling, with his meal in front of him, while sitting on his hospital bed. He made a thumbs up sign while he was talking to someone on the phone.
“The fatigue from my recent successive international security engagements may have taken its toll on me. Tapos napakainit pa sa Luneta kanina. (And it was too hot in Luneta earlier today),” said the retired Army general
“But as the saying goes, a true soldier always gets up quickly after a fall. I’m fine now. Just resting since the results of the tests conducted earlier are okay,” he added.
President Duterte and other officials were witnessing the flyby of Air Force aircraft during the latter part of the celebration when the 73-year-old Lorenzana fell to the ground.
Manila Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, who was standing behind him, caught the defense chief as he was falling down but couldn’t hold onto him. Lorenzana’s head then hit the floor.
Responding medical personnel brought Lorenzana to an ambulance on a stretcher.
An update from the DND said Lorenzana is conscious and currently recuperating at an undisclosed hospital.
President Duterte yesterday “video-called” Lorenzana to check on his conditions after his collapse, according to the President’s long-time aide Sen. Christopher Go who shared with the media a screenshot of the President and Lorenzana talking.
“Sa isang video call, kinamusta namin ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte si Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana na sa kasalukuyan ay nasa ospital matapos ang nangyari kaninang umaga sa Luneta. Nasa maayos na kalagayan naman po si Sec. Lorenzana. Get well soon! (In a video call, President Duterte and I checked on Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana who is currently in the hospital after what happened at Luneta this morning. Sec. Lorenzana is in good condition. Get well soon!),” he said.
Lorenzana returned to the country only at around 1 a.m. yesterday from Singapore, where he attended the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue and met with his foreign counterparts.
“The Secretary also traveled recently to South Korea and other parts of the Philippines, while overseeing the defense operations of the country and transition to a new administration,” said DND spokesman Arsenio Andolong said.
“His hectic schedule during the last few weeks and the extreme temperatures in Luneta earlier today may have resulted in his fatigue,” he also said.
Andolong said Lorenzana is in “stable condition and has been advised to rest after fainting.”
“He is lucid, conscious,” said Andolong of Lorenzana, adding the DND wanted to leave the hospital already but was advised by his doctors to stay and rest.
Andolong and DND Head Executive Assistant Peter Paul Galvez declined to name the hospital where Lorenzana is currently confined.
“I’m not at liberty to say where the hospital is but he (Lorenzana) is okay, he is his usual self,” said Andolong.
For his part, Galvez said: “He is stable as of now. There is no problem. He will be resting.”
He said Lorenzana’s lack of sleep during the past days may have been the reason for the DND chief’s collapse. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
