Oreta to critics:I’m not dead yet

Malabon City Mayor Canuto “Tito” Oreta appealed yesterday to his detractors to stop spreading rumors that he is already dead.

“They better stop this nasty rumor about my demise, for they would gain nothing from it. Instead, they should help me develop Malabon for the benefit of its residents,” Bong Padua, Oreta’s public information officer, quoted the mayor as saying.

Padua said his office, including that of Oreta, have been deluged with calls, even from abroad, inquiring about persistent rumors claiming that the mayor had passed away.

Words about Oreta’s alleged death also spread through text messages.

“For the residents, these are all hearsay, the mayor is alive and kicking and he is still in charge,” Padua told The STAR.

Padua said the gossip about Oreta’s death started as early as November when Oreta was diagnosed with a lung ailment.

“I couldn’t really go into specifics about the disorder, but I think it was not that serious for in less than a week (after) the mayor was operated he immediately went back to work,” Padua said.

He said that Oreta, 68, was operated on at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in the first week of December and since then, rumors about his death spread like wildfire.

Padua said that Oreta regularly reports to work but wears a surgical mask at his office to avoid inhaling dust as the city hall building is still undergoing construction.

The P380-million 11-story new city hall building, which is expected to be complete by March or April, is one of Oreta’s pet projects.