Tomas asks Cebuanos not to worry about him

CEBU – As he heads to Houston, Texas for further medical reference, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña asked for Cebuanos not to worry about his condition.

“People should stop worrying about me. I’m the one now concerned that people are upset by my health. Let me assure the Cebuanos that my situation is becoming better,” Osmeña said in a text message to The FREEMAN.

Even City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said Osmeña refuses to talk about his health every time he calls but would instead want to discuss the goings on in the city, especially the developments of his pet project, the South Road Properties.

Osmeña’s doctors in the US have confirmed that he has cancer in his urinary bladder. The mayor started urinating with blood during the 2007 elections but he merely attributed it to stress.

He, however, urinated with blood again last September 30, prompting him to submit himself to a checkup last October 3.

A biopsy had confirmed the presence of a malignant tumor in his urinary bladder. He and his wife Margot then flew to the US for treatment.

The mayor is currently on leave for 30 days although he has no idea as to when he is coming back. But he earlier said he would not die before the 2010 elections.

The mayor, before he left for the United States, already surrendered his fate to the Senor Sto. Nino.

“Let Sto. Niño decides what’s going to happen to me. If He thinks that I’m still needed, then He will let me stick around. But if He thinks I’m no longer needed, that is His decision,” was the mayor’s statement at the Mactan Cebu International Airport just a few minutes before he went on board the plane.

Even Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who has since been engaged in a word war with Osmeña, said she would not quarrel the mayor until he becomes better.

Garcia said she would continue to pray for Osmeña’s recovery. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO (THE FREEMAN)