Province won’t be a ‘free zone’

CEBU, Philippines — Vote-rich Cebu Province will not be a “free zone” for the May elections and Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said she will eventually pick a presidential candidate to endorse.

“I will have to make a choice,” Garcia told reporters on Friday, March 18.

She said she is “in a difficult situation,” considering that members of her family have their own picks. Her brother, Third District Rep. Pablo John Garcia, is endorsing Isko Moreno for president while her daughter and son-in-law, Liloan Mayor Christina Frasco and Fifth District Rep. Duke Frasco, are supporting the tandem of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte.

Christina is the spokesperson of Duterte.

If she had her way, Garcia said she would personally make Cebu a free zone but members of One Cebu, the dominant political group in Cebu Province that she leads, will need guidance.

“Personally, given the situation in our family, I would opt to just make it a free zone… and being the matriarch now – my parents are gone I am now the oldest member of the Garcias – I do not wish to hurt anybody with a decision that will favor one and not the other… It is really a difficult situation for me.”

“Also, realizing that the Province of Cebu alone is 2.3 million votes, and in a united province, this huge single voting block could mean a significant difference in the presidential race. That is why we cannot just set aside our role – the role of One Cebu and the role of Cebu Province in this presidential election – so I will have to make a choice,” Garcia said.

Her announcement will not come anytime soon.

“Well, I wish I could say sooner rather than later, but right now, personally, I’d rather say later rather than sooner. I have to, as to when, I still cannot say,” she said.

As for vice president, One Cebu has already declared is support for Duterte.

Yesterday, Duterte joined Garcia in a private meeting in Cebu. After which, she attended the opening of the headquarters of the BBM-Sara UniTeam in Liloan town. – JMO (FREEMAN)