Garcia clan matriarch passes away at 82

RETIRED Regional Trial Court Judge Esperanza “Inday” Fiel Garcia, the matriarch of the Garcia family in Cebu, passed away late on Monday night, February 1, a family member announced yesterday.

Garcia, 82, left behind her husband, Pablo or Pabling, a former governor and second district representative of Cebu; daughter Gwendolyn, also a former governor and now the representative of Cebu’s 3rd congressional district; and sons Winston, a gubernatorial candidate; Nelson, the mayor of Dumanjug town; Pablo John, congressional candidate for the seventh district; and Marlon and Byron.

Lawyer Christina Garcia-Frasco, Gwendolyn’s daughter, said in a press statement that her “Lola Inday” passed away after years of suffering from a kidney problem.

“She (Esperanza) will be sorely missed by her family, and by countless others whose lives were made better, richer and more meaningful because of her presence, her gift of laughter, her counsel, her compassion, her work and her love,” said Frasco’s statement posted on Facebook.

Garcia’s remains were now laid at the Crystal Palace in Nivel Hills, barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

Garcia, apart from being a respected member of the judiciary, also founded the Cebu CFI Community Cooperative in 1970, with only 20 members who each contributed P200.

“With her guidance, love and devotion, Cebu CFI Community Cooperative has grown into one of the biggest and most successful cooperatives in the entire country, with over P10 billion in assets and over 90,000 members nationwide,” Frasco said in her statement.

The Garcia family has yet to decide on any changes to be made on One Cebu Party’s launch and declaration of support to Binay scheduled on February 8.

Frasco said “it is inappropriate to discuss politics at this time.”