A newly established political group seeking changes in Philippine politics on Wednesday proposed to have all candidates for high office in the 2010 elections undergo a Commission on Elections (Comelec)-initiated medical tests to determine their true physical and mental condition.

“It is grossly unfortunate and unfair that some political camps have started talking about an unnamed presidential candidate as allegedly autistic without citing any medical record to support their allegation,” former Senator Francisco S. Tatad, GAD chairman, said in a statement.

“Autism is a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts. It is a mental condition in which fantasy dominates over reality, as a symptom of schizophrenia and other disorders as defined in the new Oxford dictionary,” Tatad said.

Tatad explained that the best way to stop this is to require all those running for high office, from senator up to president, to submit to an independent and authoritative medical test so that the public will know their true state of physical and mental health.

“The Comelec could initiate this process by putting together the most reputable medical and psychiatric experts around to conduct the tests. Since psychiatric testing is not standard requirement for running for any office, no one may be forced to submit to it. But a candidate who refuses to submit to it should be able to explain satisfactorily his refusal to the public,” Tatad said.

Tatad, at the same time, called on the same candidates to make a full disclosure of their private family lives, as a basis for judging their moral fitness for higher office.

“Are they (candidates) single, married or separated? How many times have they been married or separated? Do they believe a person’s moral life is valid or important consideration for high office? Since most of us believe that a morally good private life is a proper foundation and starting point of a morally good public life, don’t we deserve to know whether or not a candidate upholds the sanctity of marriage and family life or whether he or she thinks loose sexual morality within or outside marriage is a distinct qualification for high office?” Tatad asked.