Manila – House Deputy Speaker and Cebu 2nd district Rep. Pablo Garcia yesterday assailed the suspension of his daughter, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, as politically motivated and a “gross insult” to her Cebuano supporters.
In a privilege speech, he deplored the manner by which lawmen padlocked Garcia’s office, where she had earlier been holed up in protest, as “arrogant, brutal and barbaric.”
He said that it was “very strange that there are similar political developments in other places in the country” and said that it was clear that politics was the root of his daughter’s suspension–Cebu being the most populous in the Philippines with its 4.1 million residents.
“The Cebuano vote is crucial in any national election,” he said, adding that the governor’s suspension was a hit against the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) of which she is a member.
UNA is going against President Benigno Aquino III’s Liberal Party in the midterm elections.
“Please remember that while one political party–the Liberal Party–insists in claiming that the President is exclusively its very own, he is also our President,” said Garcia.
“After the election, he now belongs to the entire Filipino people,” he said.
Cebu Representative Tomas Osmena however defended the government’s move to suspend the Cebu governor, saying it was “unfair” that the recommendations of the late (Interior) Secretary (Jesse) Robredo were being called politically motivated.