How will the last 11 months of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s leadership of the province look like?
For certain, she will spend a lot of energy mustering support for her stab at a Senate seat and fighting the graft and technical malversation charges that the Ombudsman filed against her in connection with the province’s P98.9-million purchase of the mostly submerged Balili land.
In her final State of the Province Address, the governor made much of the fact that Cebu is the leading province in the Philippines with assets of P29 billion at the end of 2011 and zero debt.
That feat would supposedly bring droves of Cebuanos to bolster her senatorial campaign at the polling booths in May next year, but only if the clouds that are the Sandiganbayan cases looming over her will not further soak her image which is presently underwater.
Which could explain why the governor said the formal offer of support from the Cebu-based Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines came as a surprise to her; a strong labor union would not necessarily risk its reputation through support for a beleaguered politician.
But so far the effects of the cases filed against Garcia have yet to be measured. The latest surveys by the Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia showed a surge in her popularity (she now ranks 26th according to SWS and 32nd according to Pulse Asia), owing most probably to the fact that she has been trotting the country and appearing on national television to introduce herself to the general public.
Garcia would also be sure to bank on goodwill endorsements from counterparts in a host of other provinces like Ilocos Norte’s Gov. Imee Marcos considering that Garcia was instrumental in establishing sisterhood ties between Cebu and these provinces.
At best for the governor, an effective spin will persuade voters into believing that the cases she faces are nothing more than harassment from the administration of a purportedly politically vengeful President Benigno Aquino III and to this end the wagon of her senatorial candidacy will press forward.
This however is where things can get dangerous for Cebu province and its residents. Garcia’s parade towards the Senate and for that matter the Provincial Board Members’ political maneuvers can turn the next 11 months into a period of misgovernance.
Which is why at best for the Cebuanos, the governor can take stock of her situation and look at the cases she faces as motivation to offer better quality restitution, better service, for a mistake for which she once said “I am sorry.”
How far will Garcia use Cebu’s P29 billion in assets to raise the Cebuano’s quality of life in her last 11 months as governor?