By Gabriel Cardinoza Inquirer Northern Luzon
DAGUPAN CITY, PhilippinesVice Mayor Belen Fernandez took over as acting mayor of this city on Thursday, after Mayor Benjamin Lim suffered a stroke and was brought to Metro Manila for treatment.
Lims condition was confirmed by his son in a public announcement here.
In a memorandum issued to city department heads, Fernandez invoked a provision of the Local Government Code assigning the vice mayor the powers, duties, and functions of the city mayor on the fourth day of the absence of the mayor.
In order that public service will not be disrupted, the undersigned is mandated by law to assume the functions of the city mayor effective today, until Mayor Benjamin Lim shall have reported back to the office, Fernandez said in her memorandum on Thursday.
Lim sought reelection under the Nacionalista Party but lost to Fernandez, a Liberal Party candidate, in a hotly contested mayoral race here.
Every day since Monday, Lims whereabouts was the topic of social media, text messages, local radio stations and coffee shop talks here.
The question did not stop, even after Lims son, Vice Mayor-elect and Councilor Marc Brian Lim, issued a statement on Tuesday saying that his father was being treated in Metro Manila.
Sunday Punch, a local weekly, reported on Tuesday on its Facebook page that Lim had supposedly died, quoting a very reliable source.
When comments criticizing the post flooded the site, the Punch posted later that day another advisory, saying it was standing by its report.
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Vice mayor takes over Dagupan after mayor Lim suffered stroke