AN OPPOSITION leader over the weekend said former Cagayan de Oro City mayor Vicente "Dongkoy" Emano did not undergo surgery and that the political kingpin is in good shape, ready for the vice mayoral race come 2019 elections.
Emano's close ally Councilor Leon Gan has belied reports that the former mayor is recovering from a surgical procedure last June.
Gan said the 75-year-old founder of Padayon Pilipino party was confined for three days in a private hospital here for a general check-up.
He said Emano agreed to have his health condition thoroughly examined after he quit smoking in the same month.
"Wala nag undergo og knife surgery si mayor Dongkoy pero na confine siya for general check-up (Mayor Dongkoy did not undergo knife surgery but he was confined for a general checkup),"Gan said.
The minority floor leader of the City Council said Emano's doctor removed the foreign particles in his heart veins during his confinement.
Gan maintained that Emano is not suffering from any serious illness after he talked to the latter's physician.
"Ingon ang doctor nga ang kasing-kasing ni mayor Dongkoy sama sa usa ka batan-on human to ma-clear ang mga nag-block sa iyang veins duol sa iyang heart (His doctor said the heart of Mayor Dongkoy is likened to that of a teenager's after it was cleared from the particles that blocked the veins),"Gan said.
"Naa siya'y gabation nga minor tungod sa pangidaron pero wala siya'y serious nga illness (He has minor illness because of old age but not that serious),"he added.
Gan is suspecting that the 'malicious' report was meant to discredit Emano who is seeking a vice-mayoral post under the opposition Padayon Pilipino-Centrist Democratic Party (CDP) coalition.
Emano personally filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) last October 17. He is the running mate of the opposition's mayoral bet Jose Gabriel "Pompee" La Vina.
"Ing-ana man gyud na kay politika mana aron ingnon nila nga masakiton ang kandidato (That's how politics works to show that the candidate is sickly),"Gan said.
