Gwendolyn Garcia


Gwendolyn "Gwen" Fiel Garcia is a Filipino politician serving as the governor of Cebu province since 2019, a position she previously held from 2004 to 2013—the first woman to hold that office. She served as the representative of Cebu's 3rd district from 2013 to 2019 and concurrently served as a Deputy House Speaker from 2016 to 2018.
On December 19, 2012, Garcia was suspended by the Office of the President following her conviction of graft by the Sandiganbayan. Her vice governor Agnes Magpale assumed office as Acting Governor. Magpale served on her post until Garcia ended her term on June 30, 2013. She was succeeded by Hilario Davide III. She was elected once again as Governor on May 13, 2019.

Personal life

Garcia was born on October 12, 1955. She is the eldest daughter of former Cebu Governor and House Deputy Speaker Pablo P. Garcia and Judge Esperanza “Inday” Fiel-Garcia. Her youngest brother, Pablo John Garcia is a lawyer-congressman. Her brother Byron has been a security consultant for the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, which caught global attention in 2007 for its rendition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" featuring the its inmates. Her brother Winston Garcia is the former General Manager of the Government Service Insurance System. Also, another brother of hers, Marlon, is currently the Mayor of the Municipality of Barili, Cebu.

Education and career

Garcia studied at Cebu's St. Theresa's College. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Communication from the University of the Philippines Diliman and studied law at the same university. She was awarded with the honorary degrees of Doctor of Humanities from Cebu Normal University and Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management from Cebu State College of Science and Technology.
and her father, former Representative Pablo P. Garcia.|261x261px
Prior to being elected as governor, she was responsible for instituting various reforms at the Cebu Provincial Capitol as a Consultant on Systems Promotion and Development for three years. Earlier, she was Consultant on Financial Affairs and assisted her father in expanding the province's resources.
She was active in the private sector as chairperson of the Leyte Cooperative Bank from 1996 to 1998. She is, since 1998, the president and CEO of the GGC Group, Inc.
She is the head of the Regional Development Council, the Regional Peace and Order Council, and chairman of the Visayas RDCom, the Deputy Secretary General for Visayas of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, Chairman of the Board of the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Board, and Member of the Board of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority.

Political career

Garcia first entered politics in 2004, when she was elected as governor by 7,000 votes to succeed her father. Three years later, in 2007, she was reelected overwhelmingly, obtaining a lead of 500,000 votes. In 2010, she defeated Hilario Davide III, son of former Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., for a third and final term by almost 100,000 votes.
During her three terms, Gov. Garcia aggressively pursued a 12-point agenda for her administration, implementing economically viable development programs that effectively responded to the needs of the Cebuano constituency – in infrastructure, water, power, health, education, agriculture and food production, women and children, business, tourism and the environment. This later on became her 12-point plus 2 agenda of government, with the inclusion of an enhanced information and communication portfolio that showcase the Province of Cebu and strong international relations aimed at creating beneficial linkages with the global community.
She publicly declared an all out war against communist insurgency, and proceeded to put in place measures to achieve such end, resulting in the declaration of Cebu as an insurgency-free zone. The anti-criminality task forces of the Province bring to justice perpetrators of illegal fishing, those involved in the illegal drug trade and in human trafficking.
Garcia was elected as the representative of the third congressional district on May 13, 2013, over Pinamungahan Mayor Geraldine Yapha.
On February 12, 2018, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed her from service for grave misconduct in connection with the purchase of a sprawling property under water for close to P100 million. However, on April 23, 2014, the Court of Appeals Special 18th Division in Cebu City cleared Garcia of grave misconduct over the same case.

Controversies and Criticisms

Suspension

On December 19, 2012, Garcia was suspended by the office of then President Aquino for 6 months for grave abuse of authority. Cebu Vice-Governor Agnes Magpale, was sworn immediately into office as acting governor. Despite this, Garcia said she remains to be the governor. She dared police on December 20, 2012, to forcibly remove her from the governor’s office where she has been holed up since Wednesday after she was ordered suspended for six months, saying her removal could only happen “over my dead body.”

Graft Charges

In 2016, Garcia faced 11 counts of graft for the anomalous construction of the Cebu International Convention Center in 2006.
In 2018, The Philippines anti-graft office has began to build up a criminal case against then Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia and other officials on the acquisition of the Balili property in 2008.

Dismissal from Service

In 2018, Ombudsman Conchita Morales ordered her dismissal from service for grave misconduct in connection with the purchase of a P98.9-million property in Barili, Naga, Cebu. More than half of property was discovered to be submerged underwater and was party of a mangrove area. In 2012, Garcia tapped Supreme ABF Construction to supply backfilling materials for the submerged portion of the land for P24.47 million. The Ombudsman however found that Garcia had no authority from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan when she entered into the contract with the firm.

Public Shaming on Facebook Live

On May 18, 2020, Gov. Gwen Garcia held a briefing with the local press where she usually goes over the latest Coronavirus updates in the province. This briefing was also aired on Facebook Live. During the press conference, she pulled out large sheets of paper with Facebook comments printed on it, while having the posts broadcast on half the screen through Sugbo News, the province’s public information office. Garcia began to publicly shaming a netizen in retaliation for Facebook comments criticizing and insulting her and her provincial government. This action was met with criticism and backlash on social media, as well as the Commission on Human Rights for publicly exposing and belittling the personal information of said netizen.
In another incident on June 23, 2020, Garcia extensively shamed a doctor who had criticized the local mandate of relying on “tuob” to treat possible symptoms of novel coronavirus disease 2019. Garcia questioned the doctor’s qualifications and undermined her years of experience, even telling her to run for office if she was confident about her medical knowledge. This event was once again met with tremendous backlash online, especially from those within the medical community.