Gwen hits Davide for failing to rebuild CICC

The campaign period hasn’t started yet but this early, Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia fired off several shots at Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III’s administration.

In a press statement, Garcia, the former governor, voiced her displeasure over Davide’s failure to rebuild the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) that was built during her term.

She said Governor Davide’s neglect of the CICC is the “most solid, visual evidence of (his) inexcusable neglect and a monument to his bungling incompetence.”

READ: Gwen hits Davide on deterioration of CICC

“Davide was not even here to celebrate the 446th founding anniversary of the province (last Thursday),” she added.

Premier province
Garcia and her One Cebu party allies talked about Cebu province’s “displacement” from its former status as the “No. 1 province” since Davide assumed his post in 2013.

They referred to the 2014 “competitiveness ranking” made by the National Competitiveness Council where Cebu province placed only third next to Davao del Sur and Misamis Oriental.

Davide, who is in Japan to find potential investors and technical assistance, defended himself, saying Cebu remains to be a “premier province.”

He said it was misleading to say that Cebu dropped to the third spot since it was only this year that a new category for provinces was introduced in the “business competitiveness index” to rank cities and towns.

Davide said Cebu province is still doing good and the only difference between his administration and Garcia is that he won’t be hounded by corruption charges that marked the construction of the CICC.

Short memory
Charges of overpricing in the construction of the CICC were filed against the former governor at the Sandiganbayan.

Garcia is also charged with the alleged anomalous purchase of 24.7 hectares of the Balili property in Naga City, Cebu in 2008 that is being investigated by the Ombudsman.

Garcia said she found Davide’s defense amusing.

“It would seem to me that this governor is not only short on performance. He has a short memory as well,” she said.

Garcia said Davide’s allies in the Capitol such as Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale and PB Member Peter Calderon also voted to approve the CICC and Balili projects.

Both Calderon and Magpale were earlier charged along with Garcia in the controversial Balili lot purchase.

But the anti-graft office eventually exonerated Calderon and Magpale while Garcia and other former provincial officials were indicted.

Garcia could not understand why she was impleaded in the case while Magpale and Calderon–who are allied with President Benigno Aquino III–were cleared of the accusations.

Garcia said she could not have gone ahead with the purchase of the Balili land without PB approval which included Magpale and Calderon.

She said the CICC was not only used during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in 2007, but in international events such as the East Asia Tourism Forum.

The One Cebu party has yet to announce its official lineup of candidates, though there are rumors that former Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) president and general manager Winston Garcia will run for governor.