Slapped with a six-month preventive suspension weeks before the 12 May elections, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia fired back at Ombudsman Samuel Martires for calling her “defiant.”

She said the former Supreme Court associate justice was “grossly misinformed” about the circumstances of her case, which involves the alleged issuance of a quarry permit to a construction firm.

The governor clarified that the complaint regarding the Mananga River in Talisay City pertains to desilting activities — not quarrying, as claimed by the Ombudsman.

“I am now seeing statements that are quite incomplete in facts. I was willing to give the Ombudsman the benefit of the doubt in his first statement, when he likened or even described quarry operations as worse than what happened in Bohol,” Garcia said in a briefing posted on her official Facebook page.

“I stretched my patience then and said, ‘The good Ombudsman was grossly misinformed,’” she added.

Garcia faces accusations of grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross negligence, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and violations of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713).

These stemmed from her issuance of a special permit to Shalom Construction Inc., allegedly without the required environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The permit was issued for desilting activities in the Mananga River — a protected area — during the El Niño period in May last year, allegedly without prior study or consultation with relevant government agencies.

Martires claimed the supposed “quarrying” operation was even more severe than last year’s controversy in Bohol, where a resort was constructed at the foot of the iconic Chocolate Hills, another protected area.

‘Extensive damage’

“You remember the Chocolate Hills in Bohol, where some people put up resorts and other structures? This case is worse. In Bohol, the damage was not that extensive,” he said.

Following this, Martires issued a preventive suspension order against Garcia on 23 April. The order is “immediately executory,” regardless of whether Garcia files an appeal.

Garcia argued that Martires would have understood the situation better had he carefully read the special permit attached to the complaint. “It is not quarrying,” she emphasized.

She also questioned the timing of the suspension order, suggesting political motivations. Her legal consultant, Atty. Rory Jon Sepulveda, claimed the order was rushed, noting that Martires signed it just three days after receiving the complaint on 21 April.

He added that Garcia received the suspension order on 28 April, and two days later, a “special team” of investigators was formed.

Garcia further alleged that political motivations may be at play, pointing out that the complainant, Moises Deiparine, is a founder of a pro-Duterte rider group, and Martires is a Duterte appointee.

Despite the suspension order, Garcia maintained that she will not step down from her post, pending clarification from the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Commission on Elections.

Martires, for his part, said he was not surprised by Garcia’s alleged defiance, citing her history of disregarding lawful orders.

He noted that she had previously defied a 2018 Ombudsman decision that dismissed her from office for grave misconduct related to the purchase of over P98 million worth of property, much of which was found to be underwater.

Martires is also demanding an apology from Garcia for what he called her “unfounded accusation and malicious insinuation” that politics influenced the issuance of the preventive suspension order, emphasizing his appointment by Duterte as irrelevant to the case.