Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Thursday castigated Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for defying a six-month suspension order from his office, pointing out that this is not the first time that the local chief executive has disobeyed the law. 

Martires stressed that Garcia has a history of blatantly disregarding lawful orders, recalling a 2018 Ombudsman decision dismissing her from office for grave misconduct over alleged irregularities in the purchase of more than P98 million worth of property in Cebu, a vast portion of which was discovered underwater. 

Garcia, at that time, was the representative of Cebu's Third District in the House of Representatives. Martires said she remained in office until the end of the 17th Congress in June 2019, notwithstanding an order from the Ombudsman dismissing her from service, which carried the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification from holding public office, cancellation of eligibility, and forfeiture of retirement benefits.

Thus, Martires said, “The public declaration of suspended Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia that she will remain in office notwithstanding the valid suspension order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman that was implemented and served upon her, DID NOT COME TO US AS A SURPRISE.”

Garcia was slapped with a six-month preventive suspension without pay for alleged grave abuse of authority after she issued a special permit to Shalom Construction Inc. in May last year, purportedly without the mandatory environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 

According to the complainant, Garcia issued the permit for the construction firm without prior study or consultation with relevant state agencies, accusing her of grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, and gross negligence, among others.

The suspension order, signed by Martires, was released on 23 April, a little over two weeks before the 12 May elections.

Garcia contested the basis of the directive, including its allegedly questionable timing. She is running for her third term as governor of Cebu, one of the country’s most powerful and influential provinces, with over 4.7 million voters as of 2024.

The governor insinuated that the action against her may have been politically motivated, alleging that the complainant was a founder of a pro-Duterte rider group, while Martires was an appointee of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

But Martires belied Garcia’s accusations, stressing that the Office of the Ombudsman remains an independent constitutional body. 

Martires is also demanding an apology from the Cebu governor for her "unfounded accusation and malicious insinuation that politics is involved in the issuance of the preventive suspension," by highlighting that he is a Duterte appointee.

“I would like to remind the good Governor that irrespective of who appointed the Ombudsman, its deputies, and the special prosecutor, and regardless of the political color or affiliation of the respondent/accused, we shall apply the law justly and fairly, and we shall always be cognizant of the right of the respondent to be presumed innocent,” he asserted.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself expressed concern about the timing of the order’s release. He said due process—particularly at this critical juncture, with the elections approaching—must be accorded to Garcia, who happens to be one of his prominent allies in the Visayas.

Martires, in defense, insisted that due process was observed in the issuance of the preventive suspension order and that such a directive is a necessary tool in any ongoing investigation to prevent the case from being prejudiced.