In Cebu, governor faces 6-month suspension
The Office of the Ombudsman has slapped a six-month preventive suspension against reelectionist Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia just two weeks before the May 12 polls.
The antigraft body, while yet to release a full copy of the April 23 suspension order signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires, affirmed on Tuesday that the order was meant to pave the way for an investigation into the permit she granted to a construction firm that had no environment clearance.
A part of the order directs the immediate suspension of Garcia without pay over a complaint brought by a Moises Garcia Deiparine over the special permit she issued to Shalom Construction Inc. in May 2024 without the mandatory clearances from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), such as the environmental compliance certificate.
Grave abuse of authority
Deiparine accused Garcia of grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross negligence and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and violation of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Garcia, in a statement Tuesday, said she would contest the suspension order, adding that her legal team was already taking the necessary steps to challenge the ruling of the antigraft office.
“I respect the processes of the law, but I must respectfully disagree with both the basis and the necessity of this action,” she said.
According to the governor, the issuance of the special permit in question was driven solely by the urgent need to address the critical water shortage that had severely affected the entire franchise area of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District, which includes Cebu City and seven other local governments.
She said all decisions were undertaken in close collaboration with the affected local governments as well as with the government agencies tasked to regulate environmental matters namely the DENR, the Environmental Management Bureau and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
She said her action also had the approval of the Provincial Board, which had earlier declared the province of Cebu under a state of calamity due to a water shortage.
“Only by desilting the Mananga River (in Talisay City) could the situation be immediately alleviated and the water crisis addressed,” Garcia said.
