Ombudsman suspends Cebu guv Garcia for six months

The Office of the Ombudsman has placed Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia under preventive suspension for six months without pay over alleged grave abuse of authority, among others, due to issuance of a special permit to a construction company without lawful basis.

In a message to journalists, the Ombudsman’s office said the five-page suspension order was served to Garcia yesterday, April 28, or 14 days before the May 12 midterm polls.

Garcia is running for her third consecutive three-year term as Cebu governor.

Garcia is accused by a certain Moises Deiparine of granting a special permit to Shalom Construction, Inc. last May 14, 2024 without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) or a Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) or prior study/consultation with other relevant government agencies.

While a local politician, Garcia is a prominent and a sought after political figure in the national scene given that her home province is home to at least 3.4 million registered voters. 

In response, Garcia said she will appeal the suspension given that the issuance of the special permit in question was anchored on an urgent need to address the critical water shortage that had severely affected the entire franchise area of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) which covers Cebu City and seven other local government units.

“I must respectfully disagree with both the basis and the necessity of this action. All decisions [such as the issuance of the special permit] were undertaken in close collaboration with the affected local government units, as well as with the government agencies tasked to regulate environmental matters—namely, the DENR, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB),” Garcia said.

“My legal team is already taking the necessary steps to challenge this preventive suspension through the proper legal channels. I have full faith that truth and justice will prevail,” she added.

Garcia said her issuance of a special permit to Shalom Construction, Inc. was approved by the Provincial Board, which had earlier declared the entire Province of Cebu under a state of calamity due to the acute water shortage.

“Only by desilting the Mananga River could the situation be immediately alleviated and the water crisis addressed. There was no personal interest or malice involved—only a deep sense of responsibility to act swiftly in the face of the growing burden and suffering of the Cebuanos due to the dwindling water supply, not to mention the potential health hazards caused by the unavailability of clean water,” Garcia said.

Likewise, Garcia said she was never given notice of the complaint which unduly deprived her of a chance to respond to the allegations.

“We will allow the facts—not political motivations—to speak for themselves. To the people of Cebu: please be assured that my commitment to serve you remains steadfast,” Garcia added. — BM, GMA Integrated News

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