DEPUTY HOUSE Speaker Gwendolyn F. Garcia said she will pursue her plan to run for Cebu governor in the 2019 elections as she prepares to file an appeal on the Office of the Ombudsman’s recent dismissal order, which also permanently bars her from holding any public post. “In the first place, the (Ombudsman) decision, while ‘executory’ for certain officials, is not final. It is appealable to the Court of Appeals (CA),” she said in a statement. Ms. Garcia has previously served as Cebu governor from 2004 to 2013 and is currently the House representative for the province’s 3rd District. The Ombudsman, in a decision released Monday, upheld Ms. Garcia’s dismissal due to on an unauthorized P24.47 million project at the Balili property in Naga City when she was governor. The anti-graft body denied Ms. Garcia’s motion for reconsideration, saying it found no sufficient basis to reverse an earlier ruling approved by recently-retired Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dated July 18, 2018. Ms. Garcia said Ms. Morales was incapable of rendering a “fair and just” decision, owing to her ties with former Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide Jr. The son of Mr. Davide, Hilario P. Davide III, is the incumbent Cebu governor and is expected to run for reelection next year. — The Freeman
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