Marcos won't intervene in Gwen Garcia suspension — Palace

Malacañang assured the public that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. would not intervene in the preventive suspension issued by the Office of the Ombudsman against Cebu Governor Gwendolyn ''Gwen'' Garcia.

''Hindi po gagawin ng Pangulo 'yan,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said at a briefing, stressing that the President will always uphold the rule of law.

(The President won't do that.)

''Ang pananaw po ng Pangulo ay laging kung ano ang dapat sa batas, hindi po natin gagamitin iyong excuse ng pamumulitika. Maaari siguro na may mga issues patungkol sa pamumulitika, but still ang Pangulo, ang gusto lamang po niya ay masunod kung ano ang sinasabi ng batas,'' she said.

 (The President always follows the rule of law, we don't use politics as an excuse. Maybe there are issues on politics, but still, the President wants what's stated in the law to be followed.)

On Thursday, Marcos said Garcia should be accorded due process following the Ombudsman order placing her under preventive suspension.

Marcos earlier said he was made aware of the preventive suspension issued against Garcia. He stressed that it is important to uphold the rule of law and the country's due process, especially that the suspension was made more than a week before Eleksyon 2025.

The preventive suspension stemmed from a complaint filed by one Moises Garcia Deiparine who accused Garcia of grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross negligence, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and violation of Republic Act 6713.

Garcia and her legal team, led by Atty. Rory Jon Sepulveda and Atty. Anthony Avisado, have prepared the legal remedy and a query for clarification sent to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) tasked with implementing the preventive suspension.

Garcia said that she is not stepping down, claiming that the preventive suspension has no basis. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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