The Supreme Court en banc directed President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Executive Secretary Ralph Recto to comment on the writ of mandamus petition directing the president to submit himself to physical and mental examination, including a hair follicle test.

In their petition for mandamus dated April 15, former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Virgilio Garcia, Juan Raña and Raymundo Junia asked the Supreme Court to  direct the chief executive to take a hair follicle test and other examinations over longstanding but unsubstantiated claims of drug use.

“The SC, without necessarily giving due course to the petition, directed respondents to comment within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of notice,” the SC Public Information Office said.

The petitioners cited statements of Sen. Imee Marcos, the president’s sister and who has aligned with the rival Duterte faction, on the supposed “long-standing addiction of the president to illegal drugs.”

They also noted that under the 1987 Constitution, the people should be informed of the president’s state of health in case of serious illness.

“The petitioners are of the general observation that the respondent president is in a bad — if not, worsening — state of physical and mental health,” the petitioners said.

While the president recently did jumping jacks and a short jog in front of the media, the petitioners said those actions even bolstered their observations.

“The respondent appeared flustered and out of breath after doing such minimal volume of physical activity,” the petitioners said.