Governor goes after absent finance department heads

Outgoing Gov. Gwen Garcia yesterday asked Capitol department heads for their “cooperation” in the last seven working days of her term.

After firing the provincial administrator Eduardo Habin on her first day back at work, Garcia said she would cancel the leaves of key finance officials who left on Monday just before her return from a six-month suspension.

A waiting game before the June 30 assumption of Governor-elect Hilario Davide III has left some Capitol personnel a little anxious over what Garcia would instruct them to do or who she may replace next.

In Manila, the Sandiganbayan gave Garcia’s lawyers until July 1 to file comments on the Balili land graft case and a motion by government prosecutors to place her on preventive suspension. (See story on page 2)

“Ingon si Gov. Gwen nga trabaho lang (Gov.Gwen said to just focus on work) and to be professional in fulfilling our duties,” said Noli Vincent Valencia, head of the human resource management office, after a closed-door meeting of department heads with Garcia in her second day back at the Capitol.

Garcia reinstated Marivic Garces as provincial social welfare development officer, and asked for the whereabouts of other absent office heads.

Only four department heads showed up; the rest of the 14 present were representatives of various offices.

Vice Gov. Agnes Magaple said she earlier approved the leaves of absence because “it is part of an employee’s rights” to avail of vacation leave credits and signed the necessary payrolls up to the end of the month.

Not having these officials around – provincial accountant Marieto Ypil, General Services Office head Eva Encabo and provincial treasurer Emmanuel Guial – would make it difficult for Governor Garcia to disburse funds from Capitol coffers, including a P73 million Trust Fund that Magpale has repeatedly said she would not spend.

Garcia kept her silence, not calling her usual press conference or talking to reporters. She spent most of the morning in the Governor’s Office and left the building by afternoon.

The four front liners who attended the meeting in the Governor’s Office were Garces, Valencia, Provincial Board Secretary Anecita Pasaylo and provincial health officer Catherine Giango.

Garces told reporters later that the governor had announced in the meeting that she was recalling the leaves of absent department heads.

For her part, Garces said the governor instructed her to attend to needs of victims of the June 18 whirlwind that damaged villages in Minglanilla town and Talisay City, and coordinate with the disaster response office headed by Neil Sanchez.

“According to the memorandum of Governor Gwen, I am now reinstated as the genuine, real and true Provincial Social Welfare Development Office head of the Capitol so I have to resume and assume my official functions,” she said.

“With the things that happened to me in the last few months, only God knows. That’s water under the bridge,” she added.

Valencia, meanwhile, was given additional duties in lieu of functions of the terminated provincial adminstrator.

A June 19 memo authorized him to sign and approve the province’s official documents such as leave applications, travel orders and trip tickets, employees salaries, cash advances, sub-allotments to district hospitals, all disbursement vouchers and checks including fund expenses less than P50,000.

Habin, who is in his 70s, was shocked to receive a notice of termination from the Governor on her first day back at work.

“Last night, Mr. Habin received his termination. That’s her (Garcia) prerogative because he was a co-terminus employee,” said Vice Governor Magpale.

Jabin was the administrator who implemented the Jan. 30 lockup of the Governor’s Office, after Garcia slipped out to attend an event in Oslob town during her six-month suspension.

He was later berated by the governor’s brother Byron Garcia for being “disloyal”, a confrontation that landed Jabin in the hospital.

Magpale yesterday said she was worried about the effect of the sudden termination on Habin’s health, as he suffered from hypertension, a condition that worsened after the encounter with Byron.

“I just absorbed him (Habin) in my administration. He has served a lot of governors in the past. You’ve seen him, he is very professional and has never taken sides in politics,” she said.

If Habin is willing, Magpale said she could endorse him as provincial administrator to the incoming administration of Governor-Elect Hilario “Junjun” Davide III.

“Aside from that, Marivic (Garces) is also back. She was the only one who removed from her position when I assumed as acting governor because I cannot trust her that time. Now that the elections are over and Gov. Garcia brought her back, that is again her prerogative,” she added.

Garcia will now head the Capitol’s transition team to prepare for the June 30 assumption of winners of the May 13 elections.

An April 18 memorandum from Interior Secretary Mar Roxas requires all governors, mayors and DILG officers to form a local governance transition team before April 22 to prepare for a smooth turnover.

The team, headed by the local chief executive, has as members all department heads, representatives of the DILG and Commission on Audit and an NGO or PO representatives.

The team must conduct an inventory of all properties, assemble a list of policy and finance documents, turn over accountabilities and organize a turnover ceremony for newly elected or reelected officials on June 30.

“We are advocating that physically, she (Garcia) will turn over in a ceremony but of course, we can’t prescribe that. It is just a semblance of a smooth transition,” said Jerome Gonzales, DILG Cebu province director.