With Gwen in the U.S. Sanchez refuses to be acting governor

CEBU, Philippines - Now that Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is in the United States for an official trip, Cebu Province is without a chief executive and Vice-Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. might be held liable for dereliction of duty if he continues to refuse to assume as acting governor.

Governor Garcia left for California last Sunday for the Governors Global Climate Summit 3 without appointing Sanchez as acting governor. She is expected to be back home on Friday.

Sanchez opted not to assume being the acting governor as there is no official delegation of the duty from the governor.

“When she travels abroad, I never received any single paper to sign and none of the department heads even consulted me,” Sanchez said. He added that he will only assume the position of acting governor if the executive department gives him the courtesy.

Sanchez admitted that he presided the provincial board session last Monday after clearing the matter before DILG-Central Office and the Civil Service Commission. He believes that Garcia’s travel abroad does not strip him being the vice governor and presiding officer.

But Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director Pedro Noval reminded Sanchez about the provision of the local government code that requires him to do so.

“Who is manning the province now if he will not assume? He can be charged of dereliction of duty,” Noval told The FREEMAN as he reminded Sanchez to revisit and read Section 46 of the Local Government Code.

Noval said Section 46 of the Local Government Code states that “the vice governor...or the highest ranking Sangguniang member, as the case may be, shall have the right to assume the powers, duties, and functions of the said office of the said local chief executive, subject to the limitations...”

Noval said that Sanchez could automatically assume as acting governor even without a memorandum coming from the Office of the Governor considering that the travel of the governor is already outside the country.

In the case of Sanchez, who presided the session at the board last Monday, Noval said that it resulted into some legal questions about the proceeding.

Sanchez, however, said that the threat with being charged for dereliction of duty does not scare him.

He said that anybody can file the case and he will answer it in the proper forum.

In a separate interview with The FREEMAN, Board Member Agnes Magpale, presiding officer pro-tempore, is worried if somebody will raise the issue on the legality of their proceedings especially that the board approved on the third and final reading an ordinance that she authored.

Magpale’s ordinance grants special protection to thresher sharks, giant manta rays and sun fish found in the municipal water of Cebu.

“Delikado man gyud kung naay mo-question. As far as I am concerned, the members of the board will not question but how about kaning madakpan unya sa ordinansa nga mo-question?”

During their caucus, Magpale said that board member Peter John Calderon asked whether Sanchez can legally preside over the session.

But Sanchez, according to Magpale insisted that he can preside after consulting the matter to the concerned agencies.

Magpale clarified that Sanchez never showed them a written statement from the concerned agencies.

Capitol consultant on information Rory Jon Sepulveda said that aside from dereliction of duty, the acting governor could also be charged for usurpation of authority for continuing to function being the vice governor even he is the acting governor.

“Sa pagkakaron, nagpaabot ra gyud ta kung unsa’y instruction sa gobernador kung unsa’y sunod nga lakang,” Sepulveda said. —/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)