Pacquiao won't sue doc over Parkinson's claim

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxing idol Manny Pacquiao is not going to sue a medical doctor who claimed that Pacquiao is showing signs of Parkinson's disease.

In an interview with ABS-CBN's Dyan Castillejo, Pacquiao said all he wants is an apology from Dr. Rustico Jimenez, who said in a radio dzMM interview that he had observed signs of the disease when Pacquiao gives TV interviews, such as stuttering and hand-twitching.

Pacquiao said he feels 100% fit, and that he plans to fight twice in 2013.

Jimenez, the president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP), said he only gave his personal observation, adding that Pacquiao should subject himself to more tests.

"I'm not labeling Congressman Pacquiao as having Parkinson's disease," he told ABS-CBN News. "Observation ko lang 'yun... Ang sinasabi ko, magpatest siyang mabuti."

"Kung nasaktan siya because of my observation, e humihingi na ko ng apology sa kanya," he added.

The Philippine Medical Association (PMA), for its part, said Jimenez may have violated ethical standards when he said Pacquiao was showing signs of Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Santiago del Rosario, a member of the PMA ethics committee, said Pacquiao’s primary physician has the sole authority to make public statements on the boxer’s physical state.

“The channeling should be from the primary physician and nobody else can make any opinion or express any position as far as the health of any patient. That is not his patient,” said Del Rosario, when asked about the controversy during a PMA press conference.

The PMA said it is a fundamental duty of any doctor to maintain confidentiality of any information concerning their patients.

It added that issuing a statement even without personally examining a person would lead to misunderstandings.

“Especially on the case of Congressman Manny Pacquiao, I will just keep quiet and not say anything else ... I don't want the public to misunderstand me,” said PMA president Dr. Modesto Llamas.

Jimenez said he's prepared to appear before the PMA ethics committee if summoned. -- report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

source: abs-cbnnews.com

WBC president 'worried' about Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – World Boxing Council (WBC) president Don Jose Sulaiman expressed his concern for Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, who suffered a devastating knockout loss to Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez in December.

In a statement released to Boxing Scene, Sulaiman called Pacquiao’s knockout loss “dramatic.”

“No one could withstand such a powerful punch, right on the button, and that is worrying,” Sulaiman said.

“I pray that Pacquiao has no health problems, because he’s been the biggest star of the past decade and the world of boxing owes so much to the Filipino,” he added.

Sulaiman noted that the WBC named Pacquiao their “best of the decade.”

Last week, a neurologist said the “Pacman” may be showing early signs of Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Rustico Jimenez, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, told DZMM that he observed Pacquiao showing early signs of Parkinson’s, including stuttering and hand-twitching.

Jimenez said that he has not met with Pacquiao personally to check on his condition, but added that the boxer’s hand twitches, which he saw during TV interviews, is a cuase of conern.

Pacquaio, however, has stressed that he is in good health and criticized both Jimenez and forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun for being irresponsible and showing “a total lack of ethics.”

After Pacquiao’s loss to Marquez, Fortun called on the boxer to retire in order to prevent further head trauma.

But Pacquiao insisted that there was nothing to worry about. “I am 100% healthy,” Pacquiao told Boxing Scene.

source: abs-cbnnews.com