LAWYER Marie Velle “Amay” Abella who ran for a south district seat in the Cebu City Council in the May 2019 elections has died. She was 37.
Cebu City South District Rep. Rodrigo “Bebot” Abellanosa posted on his Facebook page that Abella reportedly succumbed to an illness on Tuesday morning, May 26, 2020.
“Atty. Amay so sadly passed away this morning. Initial unofficial info says she went through multiple organ failure after gall stones caused pancreatitis and affected her kidneys,” Abellanosa said.
In the elections last year, she ran under the party of then mayor Tomas Osmeña—Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan. She placed ninth in the race behind City Councilor Phillip Zafra.
Abella’s camp has a petition pending before the Commission on Elections (Comelec), asking the body to count the votes that went to the other candidate with an Abella surname as hers because he was declared a nuisance candidate. With her passing, the Comelec is expected to dismiss the petition.
The lawyer served as officer-in-charge of the Human Resource Development Office during the time of Osmeña.
Abella was also a member of the Mayor’s Management Team of Osmeña from 2007 to 2010. She was already sickly when she was still working in the City Hall.
Mayor Edgardo Labella sent his condolences to the Abella family.
“May the good Lord place her under His Divine shelter,” he said. (PAC)