Cebu provincial capitol situation 'back to normal' — Valte

Malacañang on Saturday said the situation at the Cebu provincial capitol has “normalized” after days of tension in the capitol stemming from Governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s refusal to honor a suspension order served on Wednesday against her. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte in an interview on government-run dzRB radio cited a report from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Central Visayas saying the capitol is now operating under acting Vice Governor Agnes Magpale. “Pinanumpa na ang vice governor at ang report ng DILG-7 ay nag-normalize na ang operations sa capitol,” Valte said when asked what would happen while Garcia’s appeal is pending. Malacañang had appealed to Garcia to accept the suspension order, which the governor  defied by issuing a directive to her employees not to recognize orders from Vice Gov. Magpale. On Friday, Garcia asked the Court of Appeals to stop the implementation of the six-month suspension order against her -- which was based on a 2010 administrative case alleging she abused her authority. She said she will continue to hold office at the provincial capitol. Meanwhile, Valte reiterated the Palace’s stance that government officials follow the procedures set by law. “If you are confident the decision by the Office of the President was baseless, then you should have no problem going to court and asking for relief,” Valte said. “Let’s stick to the process lalo (especially) our public officials who are mandated to be the ones to execute the law, we cannot be the first to break it,” she continued. — with a report by Gian Geronimo /LBG, GMA News