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                                                     'Dead" Candidate Speaks Out

                                                         By Frank E. Dosdos, Jr.

     To dispel once and for all rumors that he died of a heart attack days before the May 13 elections, an LP
Candidate for Councilor in Iligan reiterated yesterday that he is very much alive.

     Former Councilor Engineer Orlando M. Maglinao who ran for the same position from resting after he finished three consecutive terms from 2004 to 2010 told this writer that he wants to quell the rumors because people are still asking if it was true that he died.

     Two days ago, Newsman Panoy Gatia of a local daily was surprised to know that Maglinao is alive.

     He said that he believed that Maglinao was already dead because it was the talk of the town.

     It was past noon on election day that Maglinao learned about the rumor that he had a heart attack and died.

     He spoke on the radio to say that the rumors were untrue but it was too late.

     On the day after the election, people he met in the Public Market said that they did not vote for him anymore because it is a waste to vote for someone who is already dead.

     A woman in the Wet Market had to touch Maglinao to be sure that she was not seeing a ghost.

     It was learned that the rumor started from the camp of a party-mate running for the same position.

     Independent candidates who learned about the rumors also unwittingly helped in spreading the rumors.

     A farmer from barangay Digkilaan said that the rumor reached them 3 days before the election and they had not more time check.

     In a statement issued to the press two days after the election, Maglinao said that it was the worst political tactic he ever heard since he became conscious of election in this country.

     "It was a desperate and sinister move to put a person down," he said. 

     And he was saddened to note that it came from a party mate.

     Now, though having naturally lost by a margin of 375 votes, Maglinao is spending time to go around thanking his supporters and appearing personally to show that he is very much alive and that he never had a heart attack.