EDITORIAL - The late great Pabling

Just a month after former governor Emilito “Lito” Osmeña passed away we again have to mourn the passing of another of Cebu’s great leaders, former governor Pablo “Pabling” Garcia, who died last Wednesday at the age of 95.

“It is with deep sorrow that the family of Pablo ‘Pabling’ Paras Garcia announces his passing last night,” his son and incumbent Cebu 3rd District Rep. Pablo John Garcia said in social media yesterday.

Pabling had a storied career in politics, first serving as congressman of Cebu’s 3rd District from 1987 to 1995, then serving three terms as Cebu governor from 1995 to 2004.

He was also Cebu 2nd District congressman from 2007 to 2013, as well as deputy speaker during his last term in Congress.

What many may see as his most enduring political legacy the founding of the One Cebu Party, the movement that would reshape Cebu’s political landscape.

While he accomplished a lot in his long career in public service, it is often those achievements not boasted or announced that leave the most lasting impressions and effects.

We are sure he has done many things, but what he can also be best remembered for is making Cebu the richest province in the Philippines.

With all due respect to his predecessors, their concerns were mostly about how to spend that money wisely, or how to make even more money with what was left behind by his administration.

We know that wealth is not everything, something most of us will only realize toward the end of our lives. Nor is wealth the only thing that makes a province wonderful, livable, or influential.

However, what he did in making sure we would become financially stable ensured that we would not go running to the national government every time a calamity or disaster occurred, or whenever we needed to build something or pursue a project.

This is something that will benefit generations of Cebuanos to come, although many of them may not even realize it.

For giving us a financially stable Cebu, thank you, Sir Pabling.