Critics, allies: Order was ‘overdue’ or cruel

CRITICS of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia welcomed her suspension  while her supporters lamented  the timing of the  order  as a cruel act  before Christmas.

Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district, said the suspension was long overdue.

“Gwen’s refusal to let go of the Capitol is consistent with what earned her her suspension in the first place: her usurpation and abuse of power as governor.  She truly thinks she is the queen of the province when she really is just the queen of darkness.  She cannot accept that the light is beginning to shine,” Osmeña said.

He noted that the recommendation was signed five months ago by  the late Interior and Local Governments Secretary Jessie Robredo.

Asked what could have caused the delay in its delivery to the Capitol, Osmeña said, “that’s a question Gwen can answer.”

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, a Garcia ally, described the suspension as “inhuman” because it was  served before Christmas.

“Why not after Christmas?  They are doing this to a lady governor,” he said.

Some One Cebu Party leaders came to the Capitol to express support to Gov. Garcia.

A Twitter campaign was launched to seek support for Governor Garcia with the hash tags Support Gwen and One Cebu.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said it was  easy to accuse Osmeña and his Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) party of involvement in Garcia’s suspension.

“They can make up anything to make her feel better.  Why put her down when she is already at her lowest moment?,” he said.

Young said some friends tipped him about the presence of Cebu City Hall employees especially those from the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) at the pro-Garcia rally at Capitol.

He was told that a City  Hall bus fetched these employees for the rally at the Capitol but Young said they won’t have this matter investigated.

“What’s the point (of having it checked).  It doesn’t matter anymore because she’s already suspended,” said Young.

He said it was  obvious who sent the Cebu City Hall personnel to the Capitol.

In a statement, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) said Roxas mounted a “power grab” in Cebu with Garcia’s suspension similar to what former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did to ousted president Joseph Estrada in 2001.

Magpale is with the local Cebu party Bakud which is allied with the Cebu LP. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac and Correspondents Edison delos Angeles and Carmel Loise Matus