Monday, October 06, 2008 Nalzaro: Tommy’s health condition By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
TO AVOID speculations that he is seriously ill, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña should disclose his real physical condition to the public with his attending physicians. According to sources, the mayor’s confinement at the hospital over the weekend was not for a routine medical check-up. It was for something more serious.
I was with some Sun.Star Cebu columnists when the information about Tommy’s confinement spread late Saturday afternoon. We double-checked the information. Some of our sources in the mayor’s inner circle confirmed his state of health. “It’s a little bit serious,” one of them said.
But apparently it wasn’t that serious because the mayor was discharged from the hospital yesterday and immediately attended to some of his scheduled activities. In fact, he was at a children’s gathering at the city sports complex and played poker the other night.
According to the source, the mayor is scheduled to fly to the US within the week for further check-up. But if his state of health is not serious, why seek the opinion of US-based physicians? There must be something wrong with his health now?
Is it true that the mayor has been diagnosed with the Big C? I was told of the specific ailment but I won’t reveal it here unless his doctors confirm it. This kind ailment is very common among men ages 40 years old and above. It is purportedly in its early stage.
However, some of Tommy’s allies deny the information, claiming the hizzoner is in good condition. Well, that is their version. But if you try to analyze their reactions in yesterday’s issue of Sun.Star, it seems they were stating the same version. But if Tommy is not seriously ill, he must have explained this to some reporters who called him through his cellular phone. He did the same thing last August when news about his “stroke” spread through text messages. He was quoted as saying, “no interview this time.”
While writing this column, I am already expecting criticisms from the mayor for coming up with this kind of unverified information. He lambasted me several months ago when I wrote here that he brandished a handgun when he shooed taxi drivers who were illegally parked along Fuente Osmeña. He challenged me to come up with my source. Well, even if he hangs me, I won’t reveal my two different sources on this information. They are not politicians but they are very close to the mayor. Only the mayor and his doctors can confirm his current state of health.
That is why to stop the pubic and the media from speculating, I am asking and urging the mayor to disclose his real condition. His political allies and his constituents deserve to know what is going on as his health problem might affect his political decisions.
Some of the mayor’s close friends and political allies have been advising the mayor about his health. But the problem with the hizzoner is that he has taken up his vices again, like smoking and heavy drinking. According to sources, Tommy gets drunk almost every night. He goes to sleep late at night because he frequently plays poker, his favorite past time, in a poker house on Archbishop Reyes St. He is not also concerned about his diet because he loves to cook and eat good food.
Several years ago, Tomas collapsed during a wedding ceremony at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. Many thought he suffered an aneurism but he was able to recover following a series of medical treatments in the US.
If it is true that the mayor is suffering from a more serious health problem, I worry for him. And I am one of those who pray for his immediate recovery.
While we differ in opinions and in some of his policies at City Hall, I still look up to him as a good administrator. Cebuanos cannot afford to lose a good and admirable leader.
Tomas is well-loved by Cebuanos despite his arrogance.
