Garcia office padlocked due to her 'abuses' — Cebu vice gov

source: www.gmanetwork.com

Acting Cebu governor Agnes Magpale said the recent actions of suspended governor Gwen Garcia led to the padlocking of Garcia's office on Wednesday, ending more than 40 days of her being holed up there.

In a phone interview on GMA News TV’s “Kape at Balita” on Thursday, Magpale, the provincial vice governor, said she ordered Garcia’s office to be padlocked due to the alleged “abuses” committed by Garcia and her allies.

“I have been saying time and again that I will exercise maximum tolerance for as long as her presence there will not hamper the delivery of services to the constituents of Cebu. Tinupad ko po iyon,” Magpale said.

Garcia’s suspension stemmed from an administrative case filed in 2010 by the late Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr., although she and her camp claim the case was politically motivated and accused Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas of trying to control Cebu, a vote-rich province, in time for the May midterm elections.

Magpale noted that one example of tolerance extended to Garcia was allowing her to participate in the Sinulog Festival last January 20, where the embattled governor left the Capitol for the first time since she started staying there.

“Kaya lang po lately ay parang inaabuso na po talaga,” Magpale said.

The acting Cebu governor then said that Garcia’s allies have been using the Capitol’s old session hall—renovated to be a receiving room for foreign and local dignitaries—for other purposes such as sleeping and even laundry.

Magpale also said that on January 26, Garcia and other members of her political party, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), conducted a meeting at the Capitol. “Parang naging headquarters,” she said.

Magpale also raised the issue of Cebu’s finances, saying Cebu is “really cash-strapped,” and noted that the Capitol's maintenance and other operation expenses (MOOE) budget has been slashed by 20 percent, affecting all departments.

Magpale also said Garcia’s stay in the building has sapped taxpayers’ money through expenses incurred by using air-conditioning and electricity. “So I thought, ‘Sobra naman na ito,’” she said.

Garcia’s office was padlocked on Wednesday, as she left the Capitol to speak with her supporters in the town of Oslob.

Garcia’s brother, Rep. John Pablo, said they are mulling legal options in reaction to Magpale's actions.

In another report on "Kape at Balita," Garcia said she will still not leave the Capitol, describing the suspension order as invalid. The report noted that Garcia's camp said they will leave it to the people to judge Magpale's decision.

"I am protecting the mandate that the people have given me, not just once, not just twice, but three times. And the people supported that stand," Garcia said. — Gian C. Geronimo/KBK, GMA News