The Office of the President has denied the request of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to have Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia suspended, citing lack of merit. 

Malacañang has found the allegations insufficient to warrant the issuance of a preventive suspension order. 

Garcia is directed to file her answer to the complaint. “…this Office hereby directs respondent, Gov. Gwendolyn F. Garcia, to file with this Office, within 15 days from receipt of this Order, her verified answer (not a motion to dismiss) to the complaint with proof of its service to the complaint,” the order reads. 

The rift between Rama and Garcia stemmed from a memorandum that the governor issued on February 27, 2024.

Garcia issued Memorandum No. 16-2024 seeking stoppage of civil works of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), saying that the “bus stations that will be built along Osmeña Boulevard right in front of the Capitol Building will have a negative impact on the cultural integrity of the building.” 

Capitol building has been declared a national historical landmark by the National Historical Institute. 

Rama, in his complaint, accused Garcia of abuse of authority, oppression and grave misconduct, graft and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

In a report on Capitol’s news portal, Sugbo News, Garcia said the order was “basically a cease-and-desist order directed at the project implementers of the BRT bus stations along Osmeña Boulevard, a Capitol-owned property annotated as road lot in its titles.”