Labella ends medical leave; continues to work from home

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella is back at work starting this Wednesday, September 8, after he went on a six days’ leave.

But he still won’t be seen at City Hall since he opted to work from home.

Still, City Administrator Floro Casas Jr. gave the assurance that the mayor was well and ready to handle the affairs of the city government.

“[The] mayor is good. He is slowly but steadily gaining back his strength,” he added.

Labella went on leave from September 2 to 7, 2021 for an undisclosed personal reason, although some city officials said that the mayor wanted to focus on his recovery.

Casas told CDN Digital in a text message on Wednesday that the mayor was already fit to work.

“Yes. Mayor is back to work na today. [But] work from home lang sa si mayor,” he said in a text message.

With Labella now back to work, Casas said the mayor plans to honor policies that were introduced by Vice Mayor Michael Rama while he was in an acting capacity.

This includes Executive Order (EO) No. 142 which Rama signed Tuesday night, Sept. 7, which provides the guidelines to be followed now that Cebu City is again under General Community Quarantine (GCQ).

READ: More establishments allowed to open in Cebu City

“Vice Mayor Rama already issued an EO yesterday for GCQ, per Mayor’s order it will stand & will continue to be effective until amended or revoked,” Casas said.

Meanwhile, Casas said that the mayor will continue to work from home until such time that he ready to report back at City Hall.

But he said that the mayor’s health was already greatly improving after he was diagnosed with pneumonia in August and after he was found to have sepsis in January.

Labella has been on medical leave five times this year and once for personal reasons. His longest leave of absence happened from July 13 to August 19, 2021 after he was diagnosed with pneumonia.

But since his reported back for work on August 17, he has not yet occupied the office of the mayor at City Hall and has opted to work from home to avoid possible exposure to other illness including the coronavirus disease.

On September 3, Labella dropped by City Hall for a few minutes while he was on his way to a personal appointment saying that he already missed his office.  But he did not disembark from his vehicle and was only greeted by allies including Casas at the Plaza Sugbu grounds.

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