My interview with former Gov. Gwen Garcia

For our special presentation on our talkshow Straight from the Sky, we bring you an exclusive interview with former Governor, now Rep. Gwen F. Garcia, who despite the six-month suspension done to her clearly by the leaders of the Liberal Party (LP), gave the incoming administration of Gov. Hilario “Jun Jun” Davide, Jr. a smooth transition to power. Best of all, she gave a Powerpoint presentation on her achievements as Cebu’s 1st lady governor in the last nine years since 2004 to 2013, something that most Cebuanos did not get to know for a long time and in great detail.

But since that Powerpoint presentation was quite lengthy and we only had an hour for this interview…I decided to simply breakdown the nine years of then Governor Gwen’s into each of her three-year term…on the notable events that happened in those three, three-year terms of office. Call it a very intimate interview with the former Governor, where she gave a great detail on the assets of Cebu Province versus its expenses… and for those doubting Thomases in the Provincial Board…what debt-free means.

Allow me to give my personal assessment of the nine years of then Gov. Gwen Garcia’s leadership. In my book, that she was the first ever Governor to declare all out war against the communists gave the Province of Cebu the reputation of being the most peaceful province in the country devoid of the communist insurgency. This fact allowed more investors or tourists to come and visit Cebu, as it has none of the problems plaguing many parts of the country.

Her Suroy-Suroy program allowed foreign and domestic tourists to go to the far-flung areas of Cebu when before her term as Governor,they could not even see their tourism potential. Camotes Island, Malapascua, Bantayan Island and now even Aloguisan and Oslob are getting tourists as a direct result of the Suroy-Suroy Program.

The Pasigarbo sa Sugbo Festival triggered a new sense of Cebuano pride that they too can have their own Sinulog type of festival in their own municipalities and compete with one another. Before the PasigarbosaSugbo, many of these towns had their own fiestas… but after the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo, their festivities took on a new sense of pride for their respective localities.

There were many more issues that we brought up, like what then Gov. Gwen did to ensure a stable power in this power hungry Province of Cebu. Yes, we even talked about the Balili case…, which in the end was going to be advantageous to the Province of Cebu rather than disadvantageous. Though we didn’t discuss the Sugbo TV issue, allow me to say this… that Sugbo TV’s cost to operate is due to its being shown nationwide and internationally via satellite. But like it or not, it brought Cebuano pride in the sense that finally, there was one a Cebuano TV channel that brought Cebuano culture and language to most parts of the Philippines. That should make us Cebuanos proud of it.

So watch this exclusive Straight from the Sky interview with former Gov. Gwen F. Garcia and be informed about her nine years as Cebu Governor. This is why we wrote in our column that Gov. Davide has a huge task ahead in order to keep up with then Gov. Gwen’s performance. You can watch this show in SkyCable’s channel 61 at 8:00pm tonight with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and replays on MyTV channel 30 M-W-F.

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Last Thursday, the Manila Bulletin headlined the news, “Comelec Supports Abolition of SK Polls.” My faithful readers know too well that I too have been asking in so many previous columns the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), which was created at the height of the Marcos dictatorship in order to introduce politics to the Marcos children… notably Ms. Imee Marcos. Frankly speaking, I honestly don’t know why the SK was continued even in the 1987 Cory Constitution, but 27 years after the EDSA Revolt, now we know why.

There is no doubt that the Filipino people removed an unwanted and unlamented Marcos dictatorship in EDSA. But the Filipino people were conned into believing that EDSA brought about a political reform that would have been inclusive to all Filipinos. But instead, the Spirit of EDSA was hijacked by power hungry traditional politicians who created a Constitution that virtually cemented their vise grip control over the Philippine Islands. Like it or not, these politicians are using the SK to train their siblings to “inherit” their political positions and train them to embrace the cheating machinery perpetrated by the Comelec. It is for this reason why no less than Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III doesn’t want to change the 1987 Constitution because he is scared that it would spell the end of their political rule, which has been going on for decades. This is why all the more we must clamor for Cha-Cha and get rid of those political dynasties ruling our nation.

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