EDITORIAL - Labella should take the rest he needs

During an interview the other day, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella announced that he was taking a leave from work to recover from health issues.

The health of the city’s top official has become subject to a lot of speculation for a while and Labella also had a lot to reveal about it. Including the time he was hospitalized for an ear infection last January.

Apparently that was not all that happened. While in the hospital he was also told he had sepsis, a blood infection that ended almost killing him.

But despite that he said he couldn’t leave work because of the pandemic.

“Dili nako maako nga magpahuway samtang dako kaayong hagit ang giatubang sa atong syudad. To recall, last January, we experienced a second surge of COVID cases in the City. Daghan kinahanglan atimanon niadtong panahona, maong I decided to continue to work. My health momentarily took a backseat,” he told reporters.

Some may feel it was deceptive of the mayor to have kept this matter hidden from the public. And to some extent that can be said. The health of a public official, especially the one in charge of the second most influential city in the country, is a matter of public concern.

However, we also acknowledge the right of a person to keep his medical matters private. We also understand that the realization that their chief executive is deathly ill will negatively impact the morale of a city, especially one that is currently dealing with an ongoing health crisis.

Under these circumstances revealing his fragile health at the time would have been doing more harm than good.

But with that issue behind him, at least for now, Labella should hand over the reins of the city to someone else. While the city is still dealing with COVID-19 and the resulting economic problems, the overall situation also appears to be manageable.

Labella should take the rest he needs. He cannot be expected to take care of the city if he cannot take care of himself first.