“I could still be the next governor and perhaps surely I will be still governor in this province where they are mayors, where they are vice mayors, where they are barangay captains, and where they would have to first deal with me more than any other persons or any other official,” Garcia told reporters what she had said to the mayors during a closed-door meeting on Monday night.
“This is no longer about Gibo or Villar but this is their belief in my leadership. This is about their belief in what I had done and what I can do,” the governor added.
Garcia summoned incumbent mayors and mayoral candidates from Cebu’s second and sixth district to the meeting to ask them to sign a manifesto to reiterate their support for the party’s choice, administration candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, Jr.. The other districts especially those in the islands, she said, were no longer needed because they have already stated their support.
Of the 44 mayors and mayoral candidates who attended the meeting, only incumbent Malabuyoc vice mayor Lito Creus refused to sign the manifesto and opted to stick with his decision to support Villar.
Garcia said that she allowed Creus to leave One Cebu and the ruling Lakas-KAMPI-CMD and will seek a reimbursement of the mobilization funds given to him by the party. Creus’ wife Daisy was likewise excluded from the party’s roster and was declared independent.
Creus, according to Garcia, had wanted his wife to stick with One Cebu while he supports Villar as an independent candidate. The governor refused saying: “You cannot have your cake and eat it too.”
The governor admitted that she called for the meeting because of reports of defections reported by Cebu Daily News. Earlier to defect were mayors, vice mayors, councilors and barangay captains of Cebu’s 1st district. They were soon followed by mayors from the second district.
Last week, mayors and other political leaders from Cebu’s fourth district met with Villar’s wife, Cynthia, and pledged their support for the NP bet. Pictures of the meeting with Cynthia were leaked to media on Monday.
By lunch yesterday, Garcia met with 4th district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon, and Provincial Board Member candidates Joven Mondigo Jr. and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, who all denied shifting support to Villar as shown in the pictures.
Salimbangon said he was just visiting Cynthia upon invitation just like other invitations from other candidates. The picture where he flashed Villar’s signature check sign, the congressman explained, was just a playful pose.
What is important, Salimbangon said, is their commitment to support Teodoro and One Cebu which is written and signed.
Mondigo said he was there because it was a no-commitment meeting as advised by Salimbangon.
In an interview, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that Gov. Garcia was trying to “bully” the mayors to keep them behind Teodoro’s candidacy.
“And you can see already that there’s growing resentment of her trying to bully them. Little by little, they (the mayors) are defying her (Gwen) by saying they are supporting Villar. And so me, I’m just laughing here,” Osmeña said.
He said Garcia wanted to hold on to the mayors to prove her influence.
“As if she’s all powerful. She’s trying to hang on into there but her hold on the mayors is crumbling. One day it will just backfire on her on election day,” he said.
He recalled Garcia’s earlier media interview where she said that the Cebu City mayor’s support for Liberal Party (LP) vice presidential bet Manuel Roxas III was a kiss of death.
But it seems Garcia is the one losing her grip on her mayors, he said.
“She’ll wake up one day and she’ll find out that there’s no one left there for her and so she might as well transfer and tell the people that Manny kneeled down and cried before her just like Maui Taylor cried and hugged to her,” Osmeña said.
As this developed, the president of the Association of Barangay Councils in the province of Cebu has come up with a manifesto of support to the candidacy of administration bet and former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. /WITH MA. BERNADETTE A. PARCO
Cebu Daily News 
Posted on April 21, 2010
0