A smooth handover of power is expected when Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia turns over all required documents and accountabilities of her office to Governor-Elect Hilario “Junjun” Davide III on Friday morning at the Capitol Social Hall.
Friday is the last working day of Garcia’s nine-year term which ends on June 30, a Sunday.
It will be the first time Garcia meets face to face with her successor since the May 13 election and campaign.
The physical office itself, however, will not be ready yet.
The old session hall in the Capitol will be used as a temporary office of the incoming governor as Garcia will take some time to pack up and move out of the east wing.
The arrangement was discussed yesterday in a closed-door meeting yesterday between Garcia and two law partners of Davide, who are part of his transition team, as well as some members of the Provincial Board.
Garcia said she hopes Davide will be present to receive the documents; his law partners said Davide would be there unless he has a schedule conflict.
“This is very good for the province of Cebu that despite the chaos (of the election) , there will be a rainbow after the storm,” said PB Member Sun Shimura of the 4th district, an ally of Garcia who attended the meeting.
The obligations of a turnover are spelled out in the April 18, 2013 memorandum of the Department of Interior and Local Government addressed to all local chief executives.
They include the duty to “organize a turn-over ceremony, to include a briefing on the state of perofrmance, state of development, financial peformance and key challenges to the incoming set of officials.”
Shimura, an ally of Garcia, said the outgoing governor invited all PB members to the Friday turnover “to act as witnesses”.
“Nindot man gud ang events nga mu-exit ang daan ug muabot ang bag-o, unya lahi-lahi pa og partido. (This is a good event… the old will exit and the new will arrive, and they come from different parties.)
CAPITOL TOUR
Garcia later walked with Davide’s representatives and gave them a short tour of the social hall and other functions rooms of the Capitol building.
She promised to have the venues prepared for Davide’s actual assumption on Sunday when his term beings at noon, and her own term ends.
Under the DILG memo, the governor heads the transition team to ensure a smooth turnover to the incoming officials who won in the May13 election.
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.
PB Member Julian Daan said this would be the “first” time an outgoing governor will actually meet the incoming elected official in person.
Usually election winners and non-winners just part ways after the polls.
Garcia continued to keep her silence and did not grant interviews.
She returned to the Capitol and assumed office Wednesday last week after her six month suspension from the Office of the President ended on June 17.
Daan said he can now heave a sigh of relief due to the end of his post as Cebu’s acting vice-governor.
“My responsibility as acting vice-governor is now over. Everything is finished,” Daan said. Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos