The lightness of being Gwen
She was suspended as the elections approached but stood her ground, defiant at what many saw as a pure political power grab. She was hounded with cases left and right to get her suspended further. She was maligned and attacked by news media and radio commentators as the election season unfolded. Even as she campaigned quietly in the district where she intended to serve as congressional representative, some sectors in the print and broadcast media in the city— not the district she intended to serve—continued to attack her. But she went her own quiet way from then on, neither responding to the attacks nor issuing any statements that would only fuel more attack dogs to pounce on her.
Many thought she would never return to Capitol to serve out her last two weeks of what would have been a full nine-year term. Some even went to the Sandiganbayan to make sure she never would. But return she did, not just to serve out her remaining days at Capitol and to remind the few who were disloyal to her but to give everyone a profound look at her inner self after all the recrimination and the anger had died down.
It was not a defeated and down-and-out Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia that everyone saw at Capitol the other day when she welcomed Gov.-elect Hilario Davide III. I am sure those in the media who attacked her, stripping her image down to the barest bone expected her to be bitter and angry to the very end. Unfortunately, fate deals us different hands and oftentimes those we put in boxes can and do pull out surprises. And so at the very end, a gracious and light-hearted Gwen met the incoming governor which clearly surprised him and his transition team.
Ever the gracious host, Governor Garcia gave the incoming governor a quick tour of the executive offices and even asked him if it would be okay for the latter to temporarily occupy the old session hall, which she had converted into a grand room for welcoming dignitaries, while her staff was still packing things. They conversed with no tension in the air, making their exchange of pleasantries deeply profound instead of just simply civil. She presented the incoming governor a powerpoint discussion showing a compressed listing of her accomplishments on a 12 plus 2 point agenda of governance, to which Governor Davide quickly responded on a positive note indicating that they both shared the same vision for Cebu’s future, “except for some minor differences.”
Governor Gwen clearly does not want to leave with a heavy heart, despite the defeat of her younger brother Pablo John. And why not? Despite the six months she lost in serving the Cebuano people, she leaves the Capitol with a legacy of eight years of achievements in all areas of governance never before attained by any governor. It is up to history to judge her work—and the cases filed against her—but very few people will disagree if you say that Cebu is the premier province of the country largely because of her years serving the province. It was under her that the people took notice of Cebu.
No one can take that away from Gwen Garcia. And so at the end of her time, she basks not in anger but in the glory the achievements that she had sought to do and that she could have done them more smoothly had not politics entered into the fray. A new governor is going to serve the province and the best way to thank Governor Gwen for her splendid work is to support this incoming administration. In the end, nothing is left but a lightness of being and the knowledge that the Cebuano people need to move forward just as Gov. Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia has moved on.
