Wednesday, October 08, 2008 Prayers, support pour for Tom
PRAYERS for Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s speedy recovery poured in from different sectors yesterday, as the mayor remained “worry-free and fearless” as he prepared to leave to consult at least 20 doctors abroad.
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Muslim communities, businessmen, barangay and local officials, City Government workers and friends expressed their well wishes for the mayor, who is suffering from a tumor in his urinary bladder.
But the mayor did not appear to be bothered by his illness as he went on with his usual work activities yesterday, giving last-minute instructions, signing documents and entertaining guests before he goes on a one-month sick leave.
In a letter sent to the mayor’s office yesterday, Vidal said he is concerned with Osmeña’s health condition, and assured him and the Osmeña family of his “prayerful solidarity.”
He also prayed for the mayor “to be granted strength and total healing.”
“The people of Cebu look up to you as father of their city. As pastor of the same flock, I commend you to their prayers and best wishes,” the prelate said.
Osmeña, 60, is leaving for the US at noon today to seek a second opinion on the mass in his bladder. They suspect that the mass is cancerous.
Taking over
With Osmeña off to the US, Councilor Hilario Davide III will hold the reins at City Hall for five days because Vice Mayor Michael Rama is leaving for Korea tomorrow for a sister-city visit.
Together with Rama are a few businessmen representing the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Rama will be back Tuesday next week.
In Rama’s and Osmeña’s absence, Davide will serve as acting mayor starting tomorrow, while Councilor Nestor Archival Sr. will serve as acting vice mayor.
In two separate occasions at noon yesterday, Muslim communities in Metro Cebu and City Hall workers offered their prayers for Osmeña’s fast recovery.
The mayor was a no-show at the Office on Muslim Affairs’ (OMA) belated celebration of the Eid al-Fitr at the Sugbu Building at the South Road Properties (SRP) yesterday, but this did not stop some 22 Muslim communities from praying together for the success of his treatment in the US and for him to overcome his health condition.
“Our sultan has been very supportive of us. He gives us projects even when we don’t ask for it. That is why in this time of need, we gather in prayer for the early recovery of Sultan Mayor Osmeña. The Muslims in Cebu will continue to pray for his safety,” OMA 7 Director Sakiran Hajan told Sun.Star Cebu.
Briefing
Rama, on the other hand, met with Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador and all station commanders in his office and briefed them on what they must do while Osmeña is in the US.
Rama said he did not want the police to grow complacent; instead, he wanted them to respond to alarms that are even outside their jurisdictions.
“We don’t want to give any more problems to the mayor while he is away…It is my policy that there is only one police force in the City, a crime committed anywhere is a crime against the whole police force,” he told reporters.
Rama also wanted continuous patrols on the streets, particularly in the crime-prone areas where robberies and snatchings happen, especially at night.
He advised the police to develop clusters, one for the north, one for the south, and another as central force, for such purpose.
At City Hall, First Lady Margot Osmeña said they still don’t know the extent of the danger the tumor will cause, but results of the biopsy, CT scan, ultrasound and other tests performed on the mayor were already sent to his sister, Minnie, in New York for review by the best doctors there.
Gift of blessings
An emotional Margot also thanked those who offered the mass for the mayor’s recovery, saying she cries not out of fear but because of the overwhelming support of friends, allies “and even people we didn’t think are our friends.”
“We have the gift of blessings, we are blessed that we can go to the US to get the best treatment. We will have the best weapon to fight, so why will we give up when we have a choice? Others give up because they don’t have a choice.
He will not give up, my husband is fearless and he is focused,” she told reporters after the mass.
On his last day at work yesterday, the mayor was still busy. What he won’t be busy with, he said, is worrying about his illness.
He said he is more concerned about people worrying about him, and his 94-year-old bedridden mother who just gave him a blank stare when he told her about his condition last Monday.
“Why do you have to worry? I’m just conscious of my responsibilities as father, as head of the family and as father of the City. But I really don’t care what happens to me,” Osmeña said.
Margot said Minnie has already set an appointment with some doctors at the cancer center in New York, where at least 20 doctors will review the mayor’s tests and results and perform other tests.
If a surgery is recommended, they will fly to Boston, Massachusetts to have the procedure done at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where the mayor sought treatment for his hypertensive attack in 2002.
“I can’t say what we’re going to do there. I also don’t know if the tumor is malignant or benign, that is why we are going there for further tests. We have the results of the tests done here but I don’t want to say it because I myself don’t understand it. In the US, the doctors are very collegial. There are a lot of doctors who will look at him, like 20 of them,” she said. (LCR/RHM)
