Byron to face raps for recent ‘bullying’ incident

ACTING Cebu Gov. Agnes Magpale said the Liberal Party (LP) will include Byron Garcia in the 16 cases they want to file against the Garcias.

Magpale told Cebu Daily News they will file a complaint against the brother of suspended Gov. Gwen Garcia for harassing Provincial Administrator Eduardo Habin.

Habin was accused of being an “ingrate” by Byron in a verbal confrontation in Habin’s office last Wednesday.

To avoid trouble, Habin temporarily moved out of his office in the main Capitol building and occupied a room next to Magpale in the Legislative Building.

He was also assigned security escorts.

The acting governor said she was shocked to hear about the encounter since she knew the two of them to be good friends when Byron was still working as a security consultant at the Capitol.

Magpale also urged Habin, a career official who has been with the provincial government for 32 years, to file a complaint against Byron “para ma-pitol ang iyang batasan”.

The acting governor said she would check other department heads next week to find out if they were also being bullied.

However, she said she could not bar Byron from entering the Capitol since it was a governmnet building. As of yesterday, Magpale said she didn’t hear of any complaints from other department heads.

She said her legal team was discussing what other steps to take to avoid disruptions like Byron in Capitol operations.

Byron earlier said he just gave the Capitol official a piece of his mind because he felt bad that Habin had turned his back on his sister, Governor Garcia, in taking directions from Acting Governor Magpale.

Byron said Habin should have shown “delicadeza” by resigning instead in deference to Gwen and her father, Rep. Pablo Garcia, who had helped extend Habin’s employment in the Capitol beyond retirement.

Byron said this was the proper thing to do as a “co-terminus” employee but Habin, who has served several administrations including Pablo Garcia, Osmundo Rama and Emilio Osmena, is a career official.

A few days after Magpale was sworn into office on Dec. 19, 2012 as acting governor, Habin went to Governor Garcia and asked her to “understand” the employees who had to follow the new setup.

“I’m not loyal to an individual person. I’m loyal to the service,” he explained to reporters./With Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus