Greg’s dying wish came true

The Capitol, the Cebu provincial seat of government is reportedly in a tizzy after Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia resisted the suspension order directed against her by the Office of the President through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa. The order to suspend Garcia for six months stemmed from the administrative case of usurpation and grave abuse of authority filed against her by the late Cebu vice governor Gregorio “Greg” Sanchez Jr..
After more than two years, Malacañang finally acted on the case and meted Garcia the penalty of a six-month suspension. The reaction of netizens when they got wind of the report last Tuesday had a common thread: “Nadutlan na gyud si Gwen” (Gwen got her comeuppance).

Unless this is just part of  legal strategy, Garcia’s combative stance is notable because local government officials are under the direct supervision of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) which is an extension of the Office of the President. One cannot overstate the clout of a sitting President whose approval rating stands at an unprecedented 80 percent according to the latest survey. Ranged against the influence of a local official who is facing graft charges, and whose term of office abruptly came to a disgraceful end, the scenario might end up with  P-Noy using his powers excessively. On the other hand, the risks of thwarting a legal order by the executive department, of no less than the highest official of the land need to be carefully weighed.

It is uncanny  that the administrative case filed more than two years ago by a former Capitol official who has since died is the reason behind the suspension of Gwen Garcia.

In 2010, Greg Sanchez won his third and last term as vice governor under the banner of the Liberal Party (LP).   However, despite his affinity with the party in power, he found himself “immobilized” after then newly re-elected Governor Garcia refused to sign the work contract of his four consultants. With a majority in the Provincial Board belonging to the Garcia party, One Cebu, Gwen was in full control.

The vice governor had no other recourse except to file a case for usurpation of powers and grave abuse of authority with  the DILG.  Until he died in April 29, 2011, the agency was not able to conduct a single hearing and everybody thought the administrative suit was t buried with him, except for his eldest daughter, Grecilda “Gigi” Zaballero.

I spoke with Gigi on the phone yesterday and she shared with me some interesting stories about why she continued the struggle on behalf of her father even if it looked like a lonely battle.

For the most part of 2010, Greg was very ill and kept going  in and out of the hospital. He was stricken with lung cancer but problems in running his office at the Capitol hit him rather hard. His last days in office were spent assailing, in his words, the governor’s tyranny.  Because he could barely speak, the conversations with Gigi went one way, with daughter talking on certain subjects and the father nodding his head to affirm his approval.

One of the issues that Gigi raised was the administrative case against Gwen, which elicited a nod from the ailing Sanchez. With  that, Gigi promised to continue to press for the resolution of the case knowing he needed vindication. In sum, Greg died trying to defend the integrity of the Capitol’s legislative branch, a cause that barely scratched Gwen’s political armor at that time.

Unknown to many, the late vice governor wrote President Benigno S. Aquino III on Jan. 24, 2011, appealing for his intervention in the way the cohort (as he described Gwen) of former president Gloria Arroyo rode roughshod on his office and local mayors identified with the LP. In the letter, Greg lamented how the administrative case was languishing in the office of the Ombudsman, DILG and Department of Budget and Management. He told the President many powerful Arroyo allies in these  offices were trying to shield Gwen.

Greg told P-Noy that he (Greg) was being persecuted by the Arroyo-backed Garcia administration. His rhetoric was  simple: if they could do that to him, the highest elected LP member in the province, how much more the ordinary folk?

I think P-Noy almost forgot about the letter, except that when he came to Cebu  to pay his last respects to Greg in May 5, 2011, Gigi handed him a copy of the letter, as if to remind the President about her father’s dying wish.