Suspended Cebu gov waits for CA action on her petition

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is still awaiting action from the Court of Appeals (CA) on her petition to stop Malacañang from suspending her for six months.

As of Friday, the CA has not acted on her petition.

Garcia’s petition last Dec. 21 questioning the legality of her suspension was raffled to the CA’s 12th division in Manila.

Court staff said the CA division could not deliberate on Garcia’s case as two members, Associate

Justices Vicente Veloso and Aurora Jane Lantion, went on decision-writing break last week.

Decision-writing break is a new rule in the CA where justices are allowed to take a vacation while writing decisions on cases already submitted for resolution.

The third member, Associate Justice Eduardo Peralta, was on leave. Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda, who temporarily replaced him, could not unilaterally act on the petition due to the absence of Veloso and Lantion.

The petition was also assigned to Veloso, who was tasked to recommend whether a temporary restraining order is necessary.

Veloso and Lantion are expected to report for work on Jan. 2, as today is a non-working holiday and tomorrow is a regular holiday.

Only then can the CA division act on Garcia’s petition.

In her petition, Garcia said Malacañang violated Section 66 of the Local Government Code in suspending her. That provision states that the Office of the President must release a decision 30 days after the investigation.

Garcia said the investigation into the 2010 complaint of then Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. for supposed withholding of his office’s budget had terminated last Aug. 31.

The suspension order was handed down last Dec. 17 or about two-and-a-half months after the deadline.

Garcia said the Office of the President also violated Administrative Order 23 providing for 30 days to decide on cases upon transmittal of the records from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The records of the case were reportedly forwarded to the Office of the President last July 26.

‘Irresponsible and false’

At the Cebu provincial capitol, Garcia branded as irresponsible and false the statement of Vice Gov. Agnes Almendras Magpale that “the province of Cebu is bankrupt.”

“It is utterly ironic that only six days before declaring the province bankrupt, Vice Governor Magpale boasted of giving bonuses in the amounts of P30,000 each to over 1,300 capitol employees, P10,000 more than the previous year,” she said in a statement.

“This is surely not the actuation of a bankrupt government institution. Thus, the question may be asked – what did Vice Governor Magpale do as ‘acting governor’ in six days that from being able to give millions of pesos in bonuses, the province of Cebu is now ‘bankrupt’?

“Vice Governor Magpale concludes simplistically that the province is ‘bankrupt’ because its general fund is lesser than its estimated payables. This interpretation reveals the vice governor’s elementary understanding of fiscal management and her complete and utter inability to grasp the concept of budgeting, which is a necessary and indispensable tool for local chief executives.”

Garcia said Magpale, in presenting the supposed financial condition of Cebu, showed only the province’s general fund amounting to over P90 million.

“However, the vice governor conveniently omits that the province has a trust fund amounting to over P204 million and a special education fund mounting to over P61 million,” she said.

“Thus, in truth and in fact, the province has a total cash in bank amounting to over P387 million. The province also has assets of over P28 billion.

The vice governor also excludes from the province’s supposed financial status its projected revenues, which would cover its projected payables.

“On the sale of province-owned properties alone, the province expects revenues of up to P1.3 billion. For the province’s internal revenue allotment (IRA) share, it will be collecting P133 million per month.”

Garcia said the Cebu provincial government also expects hundreds of millions of pesos in revenues from its economic enterprises, real property taxes, permits and other taxes, among others.

“In discussing the province’s estimated payables, the vice governor misleads the public by presenting the estimated payables as gospel truth when in fact, by general accounting practice, estimated payables are, as the name connotes, mere estimates.

“In furthering her doomsday declarations about Cebu, the vice governor also says that the province cannot even pay for school supplies worth P20 million that it has purchased. As a matter of fact, checks have already been prepared for these supplies, but these checks have not been released by the vice governor because they bear my signature.

“Vice Governor Magpale accuses me of lying when I declared in my State of the Province Address in July 2012 that the province of Cebu is debt-free. According to the vice governor, the province is debt ridden because of its estimated payables. A debt is an obligation owed by the debtor to a creditor, i.e. a financial institution. A payable is money which a company owes to vendors for products and services purchased on credit.”

Garcia said Magpale seems to confuse “debt” with “payable,” which are two varying obligations.

“Indeed, the province has present and estimated payables, as it should, as a functioning government unit. However, the province does not have any outstanding debts to any financial institution,” she said.

“Thus, the province is debt-free. The duty of the government is to give back to the people by way of services and projects, what the government collects from them. As a local chief executive, I am obligated to translate the funds of the province into projects that will benefit the Cebuanos. What the vice governor has falsely painted to the people as a bleak picture of Cebu’s financial condition is not only belied by the province’s cash in bank, assets and expected revenues, but more importantly, by the numerous and far reaching projects and services that have benefited millions of Cebuanos.

“In her all-consuming quest to take over the governorship and to besmirch both my record and reputation, Vice Governor Magpale peddles inaccuracies and half-truths that not only deceive the people but also destroy the image of Cebu to the entire world.”

Garcia said auditing a multi-billion corporation is no mean feat.

“What would normally take companies months to accomplish, Vice Governor Magpale has miraculously done in a single day. Now she has called on the Department of the Interior and Local Government to conduct a further audit of the province’s finances. Nevermind that the DILG is the very same agency that illegally swore her in as ‘acting governor’. Nevermind that the jurisdiction to conduct audits on local government units is with the Commission on Audit.

“As a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for nearly a decade, by now, she should know that her false declarations about the province of Cebu’s financial health are irresponsible, uninformed and downright reckless. As a result, what we, Cebuanos, have toiled and suffered for for 443 years to build this great province, Vice Governor Magpale has destroyed in a single day.”

Police to maintain order

All legal and peaceful means will be exhausted to ensure law and order at the Cebu Capitol, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., PNP spokesman, said Central Visayas police director Chief Superintendent Marcelo Garbo continuously sends to Camp Crame reports on the prevailing peace and order situation in Cebu.

“The PNP is not taking sides on this issue,” he said.

“We will follow and will continue to follow all lawful orders. Any insinuation of martial law in Cebu only serves to undermine the professional and good image of the organization. We remain committed to our mission to serve and protect the people. The role of the PNP in this case, consistent with our mandate, is to maintain law and order through maximum tolerance and patience, to ensure that government functions will continue unhampered.” – With Cecille Suerte Felipe