Cebu City dad quits due to poor health

CEBU CITY — Councilor Firmo Dayao resigned from the city council the other day due to poor health.

The 53-year-old Dayao, in his resignation letter, said an aggravated diabetic condition was the reason for his decision.

"My wife and I believe that in the past four years, I have given more than enough of myself to the service of the city government, to the detriment of my health," Dayao said in his resignation letter.

"By this resignation, I have concluded that my physical health and well-being is more important than my political career," he added.

The letter came with a medical certificate signed by Dr. Gerry Tan of the Cebu Doctor’s Hospital.

The certificate attested that Dayao has type 2 diabetes, and is now in a higher risk of complications that include blindness, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke "unless there is a behavioral modification, including avoidance of stress and good follow-up care."

The councilor, who is affiliated with former mayor Alvin Garcia’s Kugi Uswag Sugbo and was the council’s minority floor leader, took a three-week vacation leave prior to his resignation.

Dayao’s wife Olive said they will be leaving for the United States as soon as they sell their house at Doña Rita Village in Talamban.

The councilor’s resignation, however, prompted some quarters to speculate that the move was part of Kusug’s political maneuvers.

Another councilor, Eleno Abellana, is still in a fighting mood despite a near-brush with death a few weeks earlier.

Abellana was rushed to the hospital during the oath-taking ceremony of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan’s (BOPK) winning candidates, after his blood pressure soared.

Councilors George Rama and Sylvan Jakosalem expressed surprise over Dayao’s decision.

"He seemed to be in perfect health when I met him at SM last Sunday. I don’t know why he really resigned," Jakosalem said.

Dayao, however, brushed the insinuations aside, saying his reaction to his illness was a precautionary measure since both his parents died early because of diabetes complications. — Freeman News Service