Gwen’s fervid response

With suspended Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia finally stepping out and Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale moving in to the seat of office, the order signed by President Benigno Aquino III suspending Gwen from office for six months has been fully implemented. The issue is not yet over because the Garcia camp continues to challenge the legality of the suspension, an issue which is now up for the courts to decide.

The scenario of the suspended governor peacefully yielding her office to the next official in the line of succession while the Court of Appeals studies the case would have been the outcome that President Noynoy wanted but Gwen defied his directive.

The political fall-out had Malacañang on the defensive and pitted the administration Liberal Party (LP) against the opposition United Nationalist Alliance(UNA). UNA is riding it by way of painting the administration as “way batasan” (uncouth) or “malupigon” (tyrannical) but Cebuanos who monitored media reports gained a better understanding of local issues. For one, they heard the Capitol is cash strapped, in contrast to the oft-repeated assessment that the province has billions to spend.

I think things would have been simpler had the P-Noy administration observed the “business as usual” policy because the Garcias control the province. The LP needs a strong machinery to insure the victory of its candidates in the May 2013 elections, but by some twist of fate, P-Noy refuses to play the game.

The administration faced a dilemma because it cannot adopt the “physical solution,” that is, physically drag Gwen out of the building without P-Noy being crucified for using excessive powers. That would have won the day the day for Gwen, but letting her hold court gave the impression the government was inutile and its agencies afraid of the Garcias.

The mild-mannered Acting Governor Magpale softened this negative impact saying she is handling the situation with super maximum tolerance, emphasizing that for as long as Gwen does not disrupt governance, she can hole herself up and fan the power grab issue 24/7.  Magpale’s grace under pressure was unexpected and made things even more complicated.

Garcia’s defiance made good copy but cannot be sustained because she’s running for Congress in the third district. Her father and siblings who are running for various local positions hinted as much when they announced the Garcia party One Cebu needed Gwen in its campaign sorties.

And so, after a month and 10 days of holing herself up, the question of Gwen’s stepping out of the Capitol became not a matter of when, but of how.

The moment finally came when she slipped out quietly in the evening of Jan. 29 to prepare for a major sortie in Oslob the following day. Cebuanos only learned about it after she was sighted in the southern town inaugurating a briefing center for a whale watching program and interacting with supporters. With Gwen in Oslob, Magpale issued orders to padlock and board up the doors of the office.

The move of Garcia lawyers to file legal cases against Magpale for barring Gwen from returning to the office is noteworthy only in the sense that it’s consistent with her unyielding stance. Other than that, Cebuanos heaved a sigh of relief that the standoff was finally resolved without violence or much fuss.

In the meantime, Magpale prepares to move into the office that was Gwen’s for close to 18 years. Recall that she was always by the side of her father, currently 2nd district Congressman Pablo Garcia, during his three successive terms as Cebu governor from 1995 to 2004. There was no transition when Pablo exited because it was to his right hand Gwen, who served as his executive assistant and de-facto deputy that he passed on the baton of leadership in 2004. She was about to finish her third and last term ending June 30, 2013 except that the administrative case intervened and disrupted her stay in power.

Unless overturned, Gwen’s suspension will frame her 9-year gubernatorial stint. Her fervid response can be appreciated in the sense that she is very conscious of history and she would not want to be remembered as the governor who had to step down because the highest official of the land found her guilty of usurping the authority of the vice governor, whose budget for hiring personnel was cut off by Garcia until his death.