Gwen: CA’s dismissal of grave misconduct case means truth, justice and rule of law prevail

Cebu Third District Representative Gwendolyn Garcia posts on her official Facebook page the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) to dismiss the grave misconduct case against her two days before the elections. Garcia is seeking a comeback as Cebu’s governor running against incumbent Vice Governor Agnes Magpale. | CDN File Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) in dismissing the grave misconduct case against Cebu Third District Representative Gwendolyn Garcia “couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Garcia, in a statement posted on her official Facebook page, said she was thankful that “truth, justice and the rule of law have prevailed.”

“The CA decision reversing former Ombudsman Morales’ ruling couldn’t have come at a better time, with the elections just two days away. As it is often said, ‘All in God’s perfect time,’” Garcia wrote.

Voting three to five, the CA’s Special Division decided to reverse and set aside the Office of the Ombudsman’s earlier decision finding Garcia guilty of grave misconduct over transactions on the Balili property when she was governor of Cebu.

The CA decision was promulgated on Friday, May 10, 2019.

Then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales found Garcia guilty of the grave misconduct complaint filed by incumbent Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III in 2012.

The Ombudsman ordered Garcia dismissed and perpetually disqualified from holding public office on January 2018.

But the CA, in its 23-page resolution, said the anti-graft court committed “serious and reversible” errors in finding Garcia guilty of grave misconduct.

The CA cited that the lady lawmaker, who is now seeking a comeback as Cebu governor, was “condoned” after she was elected as the representative of the third district in 2013.

The decision which was signed by Associate Justice Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga, Edgardo Delos Santos and Edward Contreras also asserted that Garcia’s “unilateral decisions” on the transactions over the Balili property should only constitute simple misconduct instead of grave misconduct.

“This means that the people accepted and acknowledged that despite the accusations thrown against her, they still believed in her capacity to serve. At the end of the day, it is still the sovereign power of the people ang maoy mipatigbabaw (that will prevail),” Garcia’s post reads. / celr