Garcia on Ace Durano’s plan to run for governor: I’m honored to face him as my most worthy opponent

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia outlines the gains the province has gained through the years. | file photo

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said she would be ‘most honored’ to face former Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano should the latter decide to run as governor for the upcoming elections.

Garcia said that ever since she first ran in 2004, she always considered her opponent as the most worthy opponent.

“If former Secretary Ace Durano will decide to run for governor, then I will be most honored to face him because he is a most worthy opponent,” she said.

As she said this, Garcia stressed that it would not be easy to run for a gubernatorial position considering that one had to go around the province and that it would be a great sacrifice.

It can be recalled that Durano-led Barug Alang sa Kauswagan ug Demokrasya (BAKUD) party, announced in a press release that Ace was considering to run for the province’s top position.

Former Fifth District Representative Red Durano, BAKUD chairperson, said that while Ace was considering it, a lot of things were still being weighed in.

READ: Ace considers running vs Gwen in 2022 polls

Talking about chances of winning against Ace, Garcia said she would leave it to the people.

As of now, the incumbent governor said she had no idea and did not think of any other possible opponents in the upcoming elections, stressing that politics was the farthest in her mind.

“Sa pagkakaron, politics is the farthest in my mind. Mas dagko ang atong giatubang ron nga mga hagit. Mao na nga nasayod ni atong mga mayor pagsugod nato, wa nako magbahig-bahig kay gipaginhawa lang tag unom ka buwan, pagkahuman COVID nasad. Mao nang gipadaplin usa nakong politika,” Garcia said.

(For now, politics is the farthest in my mind. We have bigger challenges that we are facing right now. That is why our mayors know since we started, that I did not pick people which in a way can divide us because we were just given six month to breathe, then it was COVID again. That is why I set aside politics.)

The governor, however, said that Red might just have not known any better or pretending not to know when he said “several groups and sectors” were calling his brother to vie for the gubernatorial post, specially with “how the health crisis was being handled and how the health sector was not being prioritized.

“I think maka-mao naman ang mga tawo motan-aw, and they have their own will,” she said.

(I think the people know how to assess and they have their own will.)

When asked if she would consider Vice Governor Hilario Davide III as her running mate, Garcia sad she would give no comment.

However, the governor stressed that Davide had shown decency despite the fact that they were at the opposing camps.

In the past two years, Garcia added Davide had shown full support for all the programs under her administration.

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