Gwen slams governor’s reaction

CEBU, Philippines- Former governor and current third district Representative Gwendolyn Garcia has slammed Governor Hilario Davide’s reaction to the meeting of her party, One Cebu, last Saturday.

“His statements are quite amusing. It would seem to me that this governor is not only short on performance, he has a short memory as well,” Garcia said.

Davide had brought up the controversies surrounding the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) and the Balili property, issues that surfaced during Garcia’s term, in asking if Garcia’s kind of government is what Cebuanos want to bring back.

But Garcia pointed out that the very people Davide is working with now, his allies at the Capitol, voted for the approval and endorsed the two projects Davide is assailing.

Garcia is referring to then Board Member and now Vice Governor Agnes Magpale and Board Member Peter John Calderon who headed the committee on budget and appropriations.

“If he is raising this dismal specter of an environment supposedly full of questionable transactions, does this mean that he is asking the public as well to avoid Magpale and Calderon at all costs?” Garcia asked.

Garcia contended that as governor, she could not have, under any circumstances, gone ahead with the purchase of the Balili property without approval from the Board, which included Magpale and Calderon.

“They were there to urge me on. They voted for its approval, they endorsed it. They even defended these projects. So, pasabotana, dili sad niya pabotaran si Magpale ug Calderon?” Garcia said.

CICC

She also described the CICC a monument of Governor HilarioDavide III’s “inexcusable neglect.”

Garcia pointed out that the CICC was a venue not only for the ASEAN Summit in 2007 but also for other high-profile international events such as the East-Asia Tourism Forum, expos, trade fairs and exhibits, among others.

Garcia also pointed out that it is the governor’s duty and responsibility to look after all provincial properties as provided for in the Local Government Code.

“In its sorry state of disrepair, the CICC is the most solid visual proof of Davide’s inexcusable neglect, a monument to his bungling incompetence. The building speaks eloquently of his administration’s major, major failure to protect the provincial property. Diin man niya gastoha ang insurance para repair ana – sa pagpaguwapo, pagbinuotan ug pagpikpik sa mga abaga?” she said.

“He has allowed the CICC to rot, and not only that. Worse, he has allowed the goods intended for the Yolanda victims, who direly needed these goods, to rot along with the building. This administration really rots,” she further said.

“But of course, what can you expect of a governor who has no love for Cebu and the Cebuanos. He was not even here to celebrate the 446th founding anniversary of the province. Maybe there are roads to build, water systems to construct and serious social services that he need to address in the faraway first world country of Japan. Or maybe he is confused whether he is governor of Cebu or governor of Japan,” she added.

Davide had also mentioned that barangay health workers were bused to the Capitol when Garcia was suspended in December 2012.

“It’s a pity that he looks so unkindly of them, describing them as cargo being brought to the city. Credit them with more intelligence and sense of values than that. Oh, by the way, what has he done for the BHWs?” Garcia replied.  (FREEMAN)