Charming as ever and without a hint of anger in her voice, Mayor Karen Villanueva of Bais City, Negros Oriental, said in a telephone interview yesterday that her father, Hector “Tata” Villanueva, is well and alive.

The statement came on the heels of an article published Sunday in a national online daily news site that directly quoted her and her uncle, Felipe Antonio Remollo, president and chief executive officer of Clark Development Corporation, as referring to the “late” Mayor Hector “Tata” Villanueva.

The misuse of the word “late”, meaning “dead”, stirred public interest with calls made to the mayor and to her father to verify the report, as word spread during the weekend about the former mayor having died.

In the article, which the authors claim to be an exclusive interview with Mayor Karen Villanueva during a chance meeting in Tokyo, Japan, focused primarily on her and the supposed attraction of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to her, her father’s name was mentioned more than once.

Mayor Villanueva said that she has communicated with the author who apologized to her for the oversight and promised to publish an erratum.

The former mayor, Hector “Tata” Villanueva, 66, always emphasizes his nickname to identify him from a cousin, former Press Secretary Hector “Chito” Villanueva.*JFP

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