MANILA, 27 November 2006 — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was declared fit yesterday to resume her work, but her doctor said she needs to exercise more and watch her diet to reduce weight.

The 59-year-old was brought to St. Luke’s Medical Center in suburban Quezon City on Saturday for an executive medical checkup, which had been postponed due to a recent Europe trip and hectic work schedule, said presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor.

Yesterday, doctors said she was in the pink of health and could resume her activities as leader of the land. But she decided to stay in hospital for another day to accompany her husband, Jose Miguel, who hasn’t completed his routine checkup, according to her aides.

It was the third time in six months that Arroyo has been confined in the hospital, fueling yet another round of speculation on the true state of her health.

She was rushed to the hospital in June for infectious diarrhea, and again in July for fever and body aches.

But for her third hospital confinement, the president was expected to be “back on her daily routine (Monday),” said her spokesman and presidential Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye.

“Let us not make this grist for rumor and speculation,” he said.

Some lawmakers demanded from Malacañang presidential palace a detailed explanation of the president’s latest trip to the hospital.

House Minority Leader Francis Escudero said it was incumbent upon the president to divulge her medical condition to put a stop to rumors that she had a fatty liver.

“The people has the right to know. It’s in the constitution,” said Escudero.

In a press conference at the hospital Arroyo’s doctor, Juliet Gopez Cervantes, said the president underwent “a thorough work-up from head to toe” and tests including a colonoscopy. The procedure is normally used to check for intestinal disorders.

“Everything was normal,” Cervantes said at a news conference. “The president has completed all her diagnostic procedures, and her work-ups were all unremarkable,” she said.

Arroyo had gained a little weight, however, and although it was still within acceptable levels, “we asked her to be a little more watchful of her weight and diet,” Cervantes said.

She said the president needs to cut back on fatty foods and carbohydrate-heavy meals.

Arroyo’s husband was being kept overnight for additional tests. Cervantes said he would be discharged today but warned that he had more flab to shift than his wife. “I think we do not have to be a doctor to assess that the first gentleman is really overweight,” she said.

Doctors declined to divulge the medical condition of Arroyo’s husband upon the first family’s request. But the doctors said there was nothing serious in the condition of the first gentleman.

On the president's health, Cervantes also said:

“There is nothing to hide. There was just a lot of stories going on, but I think the numbers and results would show otherwise.”

Even while in her hospital bed Arroyo continued to work, her aides said.

Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said Arroyo called him late Saturday to give instruction on the agenda of a Cabinet meeting tomorrow, including preparations for a summit of leaders of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be hosted by the Philippines next month. —With input from Inquirer News Service & Agencies