On Lastimosa column

I write in behalf of Governor Gwendolyn F. Garcia in response to the Arangkada column of Mr. Leo Lastimosa published on 17 December 2012 entitled “Salida sa mga Garcia”.

Mr. Lastimosa paints Governor Garcia as pitiful or seeking public sympathy (“paluoy-luoy”) amidst the cases that have been filed against her in relation to the Balili Properties. This is false as it is misleading. As I am sure Mr. Lastimosa is aware, Governor Garcia has never cowered from the charges against her and has readily faced her accusers armed with the truth and with evidence that all her actions were authorized and above board. The presumption of Governor Garcia’s innocence prevails while the cases are pending in court. Thus, Governor Garcia has faithfully complied with the process despite the questionable timing and circumstances in which the charges were filed i.e. the Resolution to file the cases having been leaked to the media by one who is not a party to the cases days before these were filed, and even before Governor Garcia herself received the Resolution. In no way has Governor Garcia ever sought sympathy from the public or bewailed President Noynoy Aquino as somehow being out to get her. On the contrary, Governor Garcia has welcomed these complaints as an opportunity for the truth to come out and for all the lies peddled against her to finally be put to rest.

Even the solemn canonization of Blessed San Pedro Calungsod has not escaped Mr. Lastimosa’s conjectures. While Mr. Lastimosa bemoans Governor Garcia’s inability to attend the canonization rites in Rome, he conveniently omits to mention the well-publicized fact that long before the canonization, Governor Garcia had actually filed three Motions for Reconsideration of the hold departure orders issued against her, and that said Motions are still pending resolution by the court. Worse, Mr. Lastimosa puts the memory and integrity of the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo in a precarious position. According to Mr. Lastimosa, Secretary Robredo “reportedly approved” the results of the investigation against Governor Garcia in relation to the case filed against her by the late Vice Governor Greg Sanchez. As far as we are aware, the case against Governor Garcia has only been submitted for resolution and has not yet been resolved. We have never received any resolution from Secretary Robredo reportedly approving the results of the investigation. In claiming to be privy to the late Secretary’s decision even before the respondent herself is made aware of the same, Mr. Lastimosa, who is not a party to the case, certainly brings into question the transparency of the DILG’s process of investigation.

Mr. Lastimosa volunteers the suggestion that the Garcias should change their strategy of seeking mercy in these elections because the biggest issue that they face is the charge of corruption. Again, a deliberate misrepresentation. It is both undisputed and well-publicized that the charges of plunder against Governor Garcia concerning the Balili Properties have been dismissed by the Ombudsman because of the absence of evidence that Governor Garcia personally gained from the transaction. Similarly, the charges of plunder against Governor Garcia concerning the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) have been excluded in the complaints filed by Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol in the absence of evidence against her. That Mr. Lastimosa should perpetuate these charges of corruption despite findings by the Ombudsman to the contrary, is not only a deliberate betrayal of the truth but an unconscionable deception of the public who depend on journalists such as Mr. Lastimosa to be purveyors of the truth.

Finally, Mr. Lastimosa denounces as both desperate and feigned foolishness our questioning Deputy Ombudsman Apostol’s filing of complaints against Governor Garcia concerning the CICC despite the absence of clarification whether Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales had actually approved said filing. To be clear, we question the premature filing of the complaints not because of desperation but because it violates Governor Garcia’s constitutional right to due process. We question the filing of the complaints not because we feign foolery but because it is apparent that despite the fact that the Deputy Ombudsman had previously dismissed the charges on the basis that the CICC construction had been cleared by the Commission on Audit; that the investigators’ findings were not based on actual facts; and that the charges, which are unaccompanied by sworn allegations, violate the Ombudsman’s rules of procedure, the Deputy Ombudsman has now defied his own findings and has filed the complaints against Governor Garcia knowing fully well that they are baseless, dismissible and in violation of the very rules which he has sworn to uphold.

With all these well-timed cases filed against Governor Garcia, it is apparent to us that war has been waged supposedly in the name of the truth. We welcome this challenge, but if we must engage, let this war be an honorable one – one that abides by the rules of engagement, one that is fought honorably and not at the expense of the rule of law or of the truth itself.

Atty. Christina Garcia Frasco