Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia resigns from Partido Demokratiko Pilipino

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia tendered her resignation as a member of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) on Tuesday, May 28, stating that her continued membership was “no longer tenable.”

In a letter addressed to the party president, Palawan 2nd District Representative Jose Alvarez, the governor cited the complaints made by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama as a catalyst for her exit. Rama is the party’s vice president for the Visayas.

“The complaint, stemming from my efforts to safeguard the Cebu Provincial Capitol’s cultural heritage through a duly issued memorandum, questions my judgment and integrity,” Garcia wrote.

On March 20, Rama filed a complaint with the Office of the President, urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to suspend Garcia for abuse of authority, oppression, and grave misconduct. 

This happened after the governor ordered the stoppage of civil works for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) and held a meeting with the Cebu City council, which later issued a cease-and-desist order against the civil works. 

Rama said on Cebu City’s teleradio channel on February 29 that this move was “treachery” since he didn’t know that they had a meeting.

The governor’s resignation followed after the mass resignation from PDP of 60 officials in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City. Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez made the announcement on Monday, May 27.

Pondered the decision

In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Governor Garcia disclosed that she pondered on the decision to resign for quite some time, seeking reasons to stay.

“It came as a surprise to me that a party mate and, as I’ve said, an official at that of the party would instigate such an action against a member,” the governor said.

When asked about her relationship with incumbent PDP members, Garcia clarified that it was “nothing personal” and that she would still continue to cooperate with members, especially those who are part of the One Cebu, her local party. Garcia is the chairman of One Cebu.

“I will just step back. Anyway, we have our own local party, One Cebu, which probably, I would say, 95% of the political leaders in the entire island are either a member of or aligned with,” Garcia said.

During the press conference, Garcia took a swipe at the mayor for his conflicts with the Cebu Port Authority and the Metropolitan Cebu Water District. 

“I did not go around breaking fences to enter the premises of the Cebu Port Authority, calling on the PNP (Philippine National Police) to display a show of force because I was piqued that the construction continued. I did not close down an entire building nor broke into the offices, causing the stoppage of operations of a water district,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, Rama told Rappler in a phone interview on Tuesday evening that the governor should have just resigned without naming him in the letter addressed to their party president.

“Mag-resign na gani ka, ayaw ko apila…bati na. Resign gani ka, resign diha,” Cebu City Mayor Rama said. (If you’re going to resign, don’t include me…that’s bad. If you’re resigning, go and resign.) – Rappler.com