Gwen locked out of office

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Tension filled the Capitol yesterday as acting Gov. Agnes Magpale ordered the closure of all entrances to the Office of the Governor.

At 2 p.m., around 20 policemen escorted legal counsels of Magpale to serve on provincial administrator Eduardo Jabin an order to “physically secure” the Office of the Governor.

Suspended Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia was not in her office at the time, as she reportedly left past 10 p.m. last Tuesday.

In a phone interview, Garcia told The STAR that the padlocking of her office is a “barbaric act.”

“It is not me that they are locking out, it is the people of Cebu,” she said. “What we want to do is to secure my office to protect and preserve the documents and my personal things there.”

Garcia said she had left her office to attend to three engagements in the towns of Oslog, Alcoy and Dalaguete.

“I left the Cebu capitol compound in full view of the people and the police on Tuesday night, but it was only around 9 a.m. Wednesday when they learned about it, when my staff announced my press con at noon,” she said.

Garcia’s staff members refused to step out of the office after  the Civil Security Unit started to lock the doors with logs, nails, chain and locks.

Elizabeth Francia, Garcia’s chief of staff, said that they were not served with a formal order that  the office would be locked.

“This is clearly a violation of our legal rights,” she said. “It’s like there are no humans in this office.”

Around 3:30 p.m., Garcia’s legal counsels arrived and sought a formal order from  Magpale’s lawyers.

Counsel Lito Astillero said they were provided the order after doors were already locked.

They were not given enough time to prepare, and the order was addressed to them, he added.

In a separate press conference, Magpale said the order was addressed to Jabin since he is the provincial administrator and his office must implement the order.

“They are not legally recognized, they should not be holding office there,” she said. “We do not even know who they are.”

The counsel of Garcia questioned the presence of police officers in serving the order.

“This is overkill,” he said. “We are not armed, but they are heavily armed.”

Police were at the Capitol upon the request of Magpale and to ensure security, Superintendent Leopoldo Cabanag said.

Magpale said she had to make a decision after she learned that Garcia left last Tuesday evening and was planning to return.

“This is too much,” she said. “She went out last night and will go back, so this is a mockery of the order of the President.”

Magpale said Garcia’s continued presence in the Office of the Governor had already cost the province a lot.

Other provincial officials can use as office space the rooms that Garcia’s supporters have been using as sleeping quarters, she added.

Magpale said she had ordered the conference room and social hall locked to prevent their unofficial use.

“For the longest time, we have tolerated the presence of the suspended governor and as a suspended governor, she is not entitled to an office anymore, no salary, much less an office and staff, but we just tolerated for the longest time that she has stayed there,” she said.

Magpale said they are not illegally detaining Garcia’s staff members since they are allowed to go out anytime.

However, once they have gone out, they are not allowed to return, she added.

Garcia’s staff members had a heated argument with police after they refused to let Francia return to the governor’s office after she left to use the rest room.

Electricity and water connection for the governor’s office has been cut upon orders of Magpale. – AJ de la Torre/Freeman News Service, Cecille Suerte Felipe