CEBU Provincial Governor Hilario Davide III is looking forward to an “interesting” gubernatorial showdown with Deputy Speaker and Cebu 3rd Distric Rep. Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia next year.
Davide said he is not afraid to face the former governor who recently expressed interest in challenging him in the May 2019 mid-term elections.
“Everybody has the right to run. I look forward to a contest puhon sa 2019. Wala ko mahadlok ana (I am not afraid of her),” Davide, who will be gunning for his third and last term, said on Monday.
“It is very interesting. She is a formidable opponent kay former governor gyod siya,” he said.
Davide lost to Garcia in the 2010 gubernatorial race but the former won against Garcia’s brothers, Pablo John in 2013 and Winston Garcia in 2016.
Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña described Garcia’s announcement as just a waste of time.
In a text message sent to Cebu Daily News, Osmeña said that Garcia’s plan to seek for the province’s top post is just a waste of time, considering that the latter is facing a dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman for backfilling portions of the controversial Balili property in Naga City.
“Gwen is disqualified (to run for public service). The Commission on Elections says they will accept her certificate of candidacy. Of course, how can you disqualify someone who has not applied?” Osmeña said.
He also said that despite the refusal of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to serve the dismnissal order against Garcia, the former governor is still bound to face the sanctions meted against her by the state’s anti-graft body.
“Speaker Alvarez cannot protect her. He cannot make her qualify. He can only speak. That’s why he is called speaker,” said Osmeña.
Garcia announced her interest of running for governor next year during last Friday’s launching of “Cebu is Go,” a movement to urge Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher “Bong” Go to run for a Senate seat in 2019.
She cited the drop in Cebu’s ranking in the National Competitiveness Council index as one of the compelling reasons why she wanted to reclaim the governorship.
Garcia claimed that in 2015 Cebu ranked third overall in the NCC but has since slipped to 45th in 2017, a drop she blamed on Davide.