Frasco, council comfort Vice Mayor Surita's family

CEBU, Philippines - Liloan town Mayor Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco and members of the municipal council have expressed their condolences and deep sympathies to the bereaved family of the late Vice Mayor Merelito Surita.

Surita, 57, who served as barangay captain, municipal council, and vice mayor of Liloan town died of colon cancer.

In a press statement furnished The Freeman, Frasco said he and Vice Mayor Boy Surita were one in serving the municipality and their constituents.

He said before they assumed their positions, they agreed to work together as a team.

"Vice Mayor Boy was also a barangay captain, a municipal councilor and a dear friend to my father, the late mayor Dodong Daku, so even in his last days in the hospital and at his home I visited him and we would talk and I would try to comfort him and assist him the best that I could," Frasco said.

He said, "Even in his death bed when I visited him, he promised me he would do what he can to help me in my administration and serving the people of Liloan. He was hoping that he would recover and get better from his illness – little did he know that these last few days were his last."

"My heart was heavy and full of sorrow when I first heard the news. In service and in friendship, Vice Mayor Boy and I were one. May he rest in peace," Frasco said.

The resolution said the passing away of Vice Mayor Surita had left an agonizing void in the political landscape of Liloan, onto its wide stage he was thrust upon and where he shone brightly like no other considering his humble beginnings.

"His stint as a public servant, long and arduous it had been – suffered from leg amputation, was marked with nothing less than dedication, sincerity, and honesty that he died a poor man as he was born," the resolution said. - THE FREEMAN