Cebu welcomes Sec. Cimatu and his team

No less than Pres. Rodrigo Duterte expressed his disappointment over how the COVID-19 situation in Cebu has been handled and how Cebuanos in general responded to the crisis, more so when he said in Bisaya that we Cebuanos are hardheaded (Gahig ulo). Many reacted to the statement of the President in social media declaring that only a few are hardheaded. But the reality is… there are many who are hardheaded!

In truth, COVID-19 is an invisible enemy and social media has become too active with people who are not even in the medical field to say what they think is the right way of handling this crisis. Yes, even former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his social media trolls are attacking Mayor Edgardo Labella and Sec. Michael Dino of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) demanding their resignation.

Worse the trolls of the former mayor pasted in their social media screens that if Tomas Osmeña were mayor of Cebu City today we would be free of COVID-19. What a misleading statement that only the blind supporters of the mayor defeated by Mayor Edgardo Labella would believe. Their latest caper comes from the lawyer of the former mayor demanding to know the health of Mayor Labella. These people think that it is already election season.

Mayor Labella is out of the office everyday working for the people of Cebu!

As we all know, the rise in the number of cases in the city, especially in the first week of June, the same week the city was placed under General Community Quarantine, has alarmed government. This is why Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu has arrived in Cebu City last Tuesday to carry out a special assignment from President Rodrigo Duterte: Assess the COVID-19 situation and recommend what needs to be done to address it. As Sec. Cimatu said, “I will really find out the center of gravity of the problem here in Cebu City. I will still be going down to the barangays and find out the totality of the problem.” Liberal trolls are now saying Cebu City is under martial law!

Meanwhile, Mayor Edgardo Labella just reported that there are now fewer active cases specifically in Barangays Mambaling and Luz, which had sitios put on lockdown during the first round of ECQ owing to the rise in the number of cases. As of last Tuesday, Cebu City recorded 30 cases, the lowest number since it reverted to ECQ mid-June, it has a total of 4,479 cases but only 2,213 are active cases. At least 2,177 have also recovered from the disease, 31 of which were recorded the other day.

Mind you there was an article with a photo of the meeting yesterday in SEDA Hotel in Ayala Business Park with Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases  (IATF-EID) meeting with Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, Defense Sec. Lorenzana, Health Sec. Francisco Duque, Peace adviser Carlito Galvez showing that Gov. Gwen Garcia, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella and OPAV Sec. Michael Dino were not present or even invited. However, other photos reveal Sec Michael Dino and Gov. Gwen, Mayors Labella and Sam Sam Gullas were all present.  See how false news spread in the social media?

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Last Tuesday I printed the emailed statement of our good friend, Rep. Raul Del Mar of Cebu City’s North District regarding the passing to eternal life of former Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon who was Cebu City Mayor from 1978 to 1983 and was the 20th mayor of Cebu City. Surprisingly, I have a letter from one of Mayor Solon’s daughters who now lives in Spain so I’m printing her letter response.

“Hello Bobit. I am Pia Solon, one of the twin daughters of the late Mayor Florentino Solon. I just read mentioning my Dad in your article with Mr. Raul Del Mar’s statements. You added that the mayors then did their jobs for constituents and countrymen! That is a true statement but sadly it does not seem to be the case now save for a few. Those were the days when we had professional public servants who served with heart and soul! Thus the stance of humility. I do read your column as I am a loyal Cebuana (although residing recently in Spain).

Adela your younger sister was a few years my junior in STC Cebu and we had the good fortune to visit your beautiful house in the “bukid” as Kayla VanZwoll was a classmate in grade school when Tita Leoning sent her to be schooled by the madres!! My kaluha and I frequented Tito Dodie and Tita Ben’s house where Kayla would spend the weekends. We had wonderful times harvesting mansanitas and cooking it in a can! That shows you how young we were then !!

Anyway, let me thank you for the kind words you have said about my father!! Daghang salamat! We will miss the man that he was but we have many good memories of him to fill the void he left us! Keep on writing Bobit!”  Thanks Pia for this response from faraway Spain! God bless!

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