Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has been reported as saying she is not considering any national post in 2010 but will seek reelection to a third term as governor. We could not agree more with that decision.
Garcia has served Cebu well. But there are unfinished business that may not be finished in the manner and way she intended, and Cebuanos have come to expect, if she changes horses in mid-stream.
This is not to say she doesn’t deserve promotion to a national position. She may come as a small package but she certainly is full of big surprises. Remember that she was a virtual nobody until circumstances thrust her into a position that allowed her to prove herself.
But we believe a national position can wait, not for an opportune time because she is ripe for bigger things actually, but only until she finishes the things that need to be done to ensure that her visions for Cebu are realized.
Besides, there is a need for her to be wary about the clamor for her to serve in higher capacity. That much of the clamor centers on her running for the vice presidency should serve as a dead giveaway of the true intent of such clamor.
People with presidential ambitions want Garcia to be their runningmate not because they need her as vice president (the position is not such a big deal in this country) but because they need her to win the presidency.
If indeed she has to seek a national position, the Senate would be a better destination because there she can be her own woman. And she can run for the position as much for her own sake as it is for her partymates.
But to be the runningmate of a presidential aspirant, one is largely brought on board for what one can bring to the plate of the main aspirant, not for one’s value to the nation if elected, because one is almost worthless unless the president is incapacitated or dies.
So, unless she vies for the Senate, it is best for Garcia to stay with the province, where she has done a lot of good things. Once she has served out her third and last term, perhaps that would be the clearer time to think out her options.