The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the six months preventive suspension of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for alleged 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, based on an administrative complaint filed by one Moises Garcia Deiparine. 

According to the complainant, Governor Garcia issued a Special Permit No. 2024-09 to Shalom Construction, Inc. (Shalom), represented by Anthony James Limchesing, on May 14, 2024 without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) nor 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.

The governor confirmed the preventive suspension in an official statement published on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 on Cebu Province and Sugbo News, official news portals of the Cebu Provincial Government. 

“I respect the processes of the law, but I must respectfully disagree with both the basis and the necessity of this action,” Garcia said in the statement.

“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 (MCWD), which includes Cebu City and seven other local government units,” she pointed out.

“All decisions 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 Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). It must also be emphasized that this course of action was carried out with the proper approval of the Provincial Board, which had earlier declared the entire Province of Cebu under a state of calamity due to the acute water shortage,” the statement further reads.

“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 added.

“It bears stressing that we were never given notice of this complaint, and thus were deprived of the opportunity to respond to Mr. Moises Garcia Deiparine’s baseless and malicious accusations. It is important to note that the complainant is a known political figure affiliated with partisan groups. We will allow the facts — not political motivations — to speak for themselves,” the governor further 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,” Garcia also stated. 

The statement also pointed out that Moises Garcia Deiparine is the "founder of the Duterte Riders Team and is openly affiliated with partisan political groups."

The suspension order was issued by Ombudsman Samuel Martires.