GOV. Hilario Davide III denied there was anything illegal in the appointment of two new department heads.
In a press conference, Davide said politics was behind the charges filed by Rep. Gwen Garcia (Cebu, 3rd district) before the Office of the Ombudsman against him, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale and four other officials regarding the matter.
“It’s clearly politicking, especially since the elections are fast approaching. We don’t act on anything if we don’t study it carefully. Our position here is that there was nothing illegal in appointing them,” Davide said in Cebuano.
Garcia is running for governor against Magpale in the May midterm elections. Davide is Magpale’s running mate.
In her complaint, Garcia said Davide and the five other Capitol officials committed grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service by appointing Provincial Health Officer Rene Catan and Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas to department head status.
Appeal granted
Their predecessors, Dr. Cristina Giango and Emme Gingoyon, respectively, were earlier dismissed by the Ombudsman for their role in the controversial procurement that led to the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center.
Garcia said that even though the Court of Appeals (CA) granted their appeal, Davide did not restore Giango and Gingoyon to their posts.
Giango is currently assigned in the medical clinic unit of the Provincial Health Office, while Gingoyon has not been assigned to any post.
Aside from Davide and Magpale, also included in Garcia’s complaint were Catan, Rodas, Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino and Provincial Human Resources Management Office head Bonifer Nacorda.
But the governor said that when the CA cleared Giango and Gingoyon, he accepted them back.
Davide said that while Giango returned to work, Gingoyon never showed up.
Rodas refused to issue any comment on the matter, saying he was merely complying with Davide’s orders.
In a text message to Superbalita Cebu, Garcia said whether the issue reeked of politics or not, Davide should answer it.
“Whether or not namulitika man ko o wala (I am politicking) is beside the point. Ang angay niya tubagon mao kung siya sad-an ba isip gobernador (He should answer whether he is liable as governor) for illegally appointing his chosen people in spite of the fact that these (positions) were, in fact, not actually vacant. It’s as simple as that,” Garcia said. (FROM AZLG OF SUPERBALITA CEBU / JKV)