Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella is currently admitted to a private hospital in Cebu City due to an ear infection.
This was revealed by Vice Mayor Michael Rama, who is now serving as acting mayor of the city.
Rama said that Labella has suffered through the medical condition since January 17, 2021, which is the reason why the mayor has not been able to attend the opening ceremony of the virtual Sinulog Rewind.
However, the vice mayor denied that Labella is in a comatose condition and would need a longer leave of absence. The mayor, according to Rama, has only filed a three-day leave.
City Administrator Floro Casas, Jr., said the mayor decided to file a leave so he can get a thorough medical check-up for his ailment.
“Nagsige mig sturya, okay ra man si mayor,” said Casas in a phone conference.
In the meantime, Rama will be sitting in as acting mayor while Councilor Donaldo Hontiveros, the city’s first councilor, will be serving as acting vice mayor and presiding over the City Council’s regular session today.
Rama said there was no special instruction from the mayor on what will be prioritized during his short stay as acting mayor but he assured Labella that the city government will be running smoothly while he recuperates.
“I told him if di nimo madala, ako ra. What shocked me was last night, it was fake news! It is true that the mayor is admitted at Cebu Doctor’s, but he is not in a coma,” said Rama.
To ensure the continuous and unhampered operations of the city hall, Rama has already met with the different department heads to discuss certain issues, especially with pandemic response amid the rise of COVID-19 cases in the city which has now reached 650.
The vice mayor said he is mainly concerned with the influx of patients to the city’s isolation centers especially at the New Normal Oasis for Adaptation and a Home (NOAH) Complex at the South Road Properties (SRP), which now has over 300 patients. /rcg