Court of Appeals allows Garcia to run as Cebu governor, reverses Ombudsman

May 12, 2019

The Court of Appeals has allowed Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia to pursue her gubernatorial bid in the 2019 midterm elections Monday.

Voting 3-2, the CA’s special division of five magistrates ruled that the Ombudsman committed grave abuse of discretion and violated Garcia's right to a speedy disposition of her case.

In a 23-page decision Friday, the CA reversed a ruling of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2017 ordering Garcia's dismissal from service and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

This arose from the Cebu provincial government’s alleged anomalous purchase of a property when Garcia was governor in 2012.

The appellate court granted Garcia's petition seeking to overturn the Ombudsman resolution finding her guilty of grave misconduct.

The CA said the Ombudsman took two and a half years to resolve the case against Garcia.

“A delay of 2 1/2 years is highly unreasonable and unjustifiable most especially in the light of the (ombudsman’s) mandate to prioritize cases filed against a high ranking official (like Garcia)," read the ruling penned by Associate Justice Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga.

The complaint against Garcia and 10 other provincial officials was filed on Dec. 7, 2012 by current Gov. Hilario Davide III and two others over Garcia’s “unilateral decision” to start the filling of the mangrove and submerged portions of the Balili property without provincial board's approval.

The case was docketed on June 6, 2013, and the filing of the pleadings was extended until June 2015. It took the Ombudsman until Dec. 2017 to resolve the case.

The appellate court also stressed that Garcia was liable for only simple misconduct, which carries a penalty of six months suspension, and not grave misconduct. DMS