Manila Bulletin

Where is Cebu City Mayor Labella?

By CALVIN D. CORDOVA

CEBU CITY – Mayor Edgardo Labella here has been out of the public eye even after his medical leave had lapsed.

So where is the mayor and how’s his health condition? Even the second highest official of this city could not answer these questions.

Acting City Mayor Michael Rama said he too wanted to know the whereabouts and condition of Labella but even him was totally kept in the dark about Labella’s situation.

“If you are talking about any close kin of Edgardo, nobody called me. I tried calling the number of the City Administrator but it is inaccessible,” Rama said in a press briefing last Wednesday.

Rama said last Sunday, July 26, was supposed to be his last day as the city’s acting mayor after Labella went on medical leave due to “slight pneumonia.”

According to Rama, he has not received any word from Labella’s camp as to when will he return to office.

“Have you seen your mayor? So we are all in the same boat. I have not seen and I have not talked with my mayor,” Rama said.

Rama tried reaching out to the mayor and his family after rumors that Labella has died swirled anew.

City Administrator Floro Casas Jr. and Labella’s son Jaypee had appealed to the public to stop spreading rumors about the mayor’s condition.

“The mayor is doing so well in recovering from slight pneumonia please stop spreading fake news and let him rest,” Jaypee said in July 23 Facebook post.

It was the fifth time this year that Labella took a medical leave. Last June, the mayor filed a threeweek leave of absence to recover from sepsis or blood infection.

It was only during that time that Labella publicly revealed his health condition. “Last January, I was rushed to the hospital for an ear infection. But that was not all. While I was at the hospital, and after thorough tests, I was told that I had sepsis or blood infection. I almost died,” Labella said in a June 8 press conference.

Councilor Raymond Garcia, the council’s majority floor leader, said Rama will continue to be the acting mayor until the council receives a letter from Labella informing that he is back in office.

Provincial News

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2021-07-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

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