Cebu gov orders review of past administration’s programs

CEBU CITY –– President Duterte’s ally Gwendolyn Garcia has made a comeback for another term in office as governor of Cebu on Monday.

First on her agenda was to place under review some of the programs of the previous administration, including road projects, and an inventory of all province-owned equipment distributed to different towns and cities of Cebu.

One of those placed under suspension is the P1.2-billion building construction at the Cebu Provincial Capitol, which she believed to be anomalous.

She issued Executive Order No. 1 for its construction work suspension and inspected the site right after taking her seat at the Capitol.

She also ordered the stopping of all “illegal quarrying activities” around Cebu province and placed under review all sand and gravel permits issued by the Capitol.

She also suspended all processing and applications for SAG extractions in the entire province.

In her Memorandum Circular No. 4, Garcia described the illegal extraction of sand and gravel in the province causes “further degradation of the environment which causes calamities that result to massive destruction of properties and human lives.”

Garcia also issued a separate Memorandum Circular No. 3 to the Provincial Engineering Office to suspend all construction and repair of roads and other road projects pending review and audit of all these projects.

The Provincial Engineering Office was also asked to submit a detailed report on all programs and activities either continuing or for implementation since 2013 up to 2019.

Aside from courtesy visits, Garcia also met with all the Department Heads of the provincial government and asked about their accomplishments and programs.

She also attended the inaugural session of the Cebu Provincial Board. She told the local legislators that she will downsize the workforce of the Capitol as well as reorganize the different bodies under the provincial government.

Garcia said her priorities in the next three years of her term would include an inter-LGU solution to traffic, a workable mass transport system for Metro Cebu, expanding a bulk water supply project, and establishment of waste to energy facilities, among others.

In 2013, Garcia was suspended as governor and was forcibly taken out of her office for alleged usurpation charges investigated by then the Office of the President under Benigno Aquino. She claims the charges and her suspension was politically motivated. (Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)