Ex-mayor of Bohol dies from pancreatic cancer

TAGBILARAN CITY –– A former municipal mayor in Bohol has succumbed to pancreatic cancer.

Rosemarie Lim-Imboy, who was mayor of Loay town from 2007 to 2016, died on Good Friday in Cebu City due to complications caused by pancreatic cancer. She was 61.

In a Facebook post, her daughter, former Loay Mayor Rochelle Brigitte Imboy-Abutazil, said her wake would be held at Cosmopolitan Memorial Chapel, Nivel Hills, Cebu City until Monday, April 13 when her remains would be laid to rest at Angelicum Garden of Angels, also in Cebu City.

Imboy, a mother of five, was described by her children as exceptional.

“She was strong yet loving. She was strict yet comforting. She gave freedom and independence yet she watched closely. She pushed them to excel yet she accepted their shortcomings. Until her last moments, she exuded only love to her children and grandchildren,” said Abutazil.

“She is known to light up any room with her smile and is always graceful in everything she did. Even with her battle against cancer, she was graceful, strong and smiling till the very end,” Abutazil added.

She is survived by her children Rowena Imboy-Lim, Jonathan L. Imboy, Roxanne Mae Imboy-Garcia, Rochelle Brigitte Imboy-Abutazil and Jethro Nathaniel Imboy, and her siblings and grandchildren.

As one of the few female politicians in Bohol, Imboy began her political career when she served as Loay town mayor.

She was elected president of the League of the Municipalities of the Philippines-Bohol Chapter and became LMP National Treasurer from 2010 to 2013.

In 2016 she ran for Bohol governor but lost to Edgar Chatto.

Although she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017, she tried to regain her old seat as Loay mayor in 2019 elections but lost in her bid.