Editorial: Gwen’s exit

THE camp of suspended Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia obviously knew beforehand that she can’t have it both ways.

If she wants continued use of the governor’s office, then she has to remain holed up there. That would mean she has to let go of plans to go outside of the Capitol to strengthen her electoral bid in May.

If she wants to prepare for her and One Cebu party’s campaign in the province, then she has to face the possibility of being eased out of the governor’s office by Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale.

In short, plans for her to stay in the governor’s office while leading One Cebu’s run in the province are not practicable.

That Garcia still did it, meaning that she left the governor’s office Tuesday night to visit some towns in southern Cebu the next day, gives one the feeling that she dared Magpale to do what she did--like the acting governor was a fish pushed to take the bait.

There is actually this view that Garcia was looking for a “graceful” exit after weeks of being holed up in her office in defiance of the suspension order issued by Malacañang in mid-December last year.

“Graceful” meaning ending her occupation of the governor’s office with a flourish.

And that came when Magpale did order the padlocking of the governor’s office after Garcia left, giving fodder to the portrayal of her suspension as an act of oppression by Malacañang and the ruling Liberal Party where the Magpale camp belongs.

Indeed, the sight created by the padlocking of the governor’s office is not flattering to the Magpale camp. The armed personnel deployed there, the hammering of the doors, even the placing of yellow police lines can be symbolic of that “oppression.”

But whether the Garcia camp intended to make political capital out of her exit or not, one other thing stands out: the ending of the impasse at the Capitol means the shift of the “war” to the province.

Garcia, freed from her responsibilities at the Capitol and finally leaving the office where she was holed up for weeks, now has more time to focus on leading One Cebu’s charge in the province. And she has acknowledged that, vowing to go around the province with more vigor.

Magpale, on the other hand, will be the one tied to the Capitol, leaving the onus of the LP campaign on the party’s gubernatorial bet Hilario Davide III. Whether that works or not for them remains to be seen.