THE Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the criminal charges filed against former Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia and a contractor over the controversial desilting of the Mananga River in Talisay City.
In a 25-page resolution dated August 29, 2025, and approved by Acting Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Dante F. Vargas on September 10, the Ombudsman ruled there was no probable cause to indict Garcia and contractor Anthony James Limchesing of Shalom Construction Inc. for violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed on April 21, 2025, by Moises Garcia Deiparine, who accused Garcia of granting Shalom Construction a special permit to extract sand and gravel from a protected section of the Mananga River without the required environmental compliance certificate (ECC) or certificate of non-coverage from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The Mananga River is part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape, which falls under DENR jurisdiction.
Records show that on May 14, 2024, Garcia, then governor, issued Special Permit 2024-09 to Shalom Construction to conduct desilting and extraction work in the river amid a provincewide water crisis brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.
Although the criminal complaint was dismissed, the Ombudsman had earlier found Garcia administratively liable for simple misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
A preventive suspension order was issued on April 29, 2025, for six months on allegations of grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, and gross negligence. The suspension, however, was not implemented after Garcia sought legal guidance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government and later secured a 60-day temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals’ Special 17th Division.
In its July 16, 2025, decision, the Ombudsman said Garcia failed to ensure compliance with environmental requirements before issuing the special permit, particularly the absence of an ECC. Since her term ended on June 30, the one-year suspension was converted into a fine equivalent to six months of her salary.
Garcia sought reconsideration, invoking the “doctrine of necessity” in defense of her decision. However, the Ombudsman denied her motion on September 23, stating that the allegations lacked legal and factual basis and that there was no showing of corrupt intent.
Garcia insisted that the desilting was a legitimate emergency response to address Cebu’s water shortage at the height of El Niño, not a commercial quarrying operation. She said the activity was done in coordination with concerned agencies.
She had earlier criticized the Ombudsman’s administrative ruling as “misinformed,” maintaining that her actions were made in good faith and within her authority as governor.
In a statement on Wednesday, October 22, Garcia thanked the Ombudsman for what she described as a fair and judicious decision.
“Deiparine was merely a hapless pawn used by more powerful forces obsessed with politically harming me,” she said. “Now he will have to face the consequences of his misdeed. Truth and justice will always prevail.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, October 22, 2025, Deiparine has yet to issue a statement regarding the Ombudsman’s latest ruling.
The Ombudsman’s findings covered two separate proceedings — administrative and criminal — each with different standards, penalties, and implications.
While Garcia was found to have procedural lapses in the administrative aspect, the Ombudsman said these did not amount to corruption or intent to gain personal benefit.
In the criminal case, she was cleared of any wrongdoing that could have led to imprisonment or disqualification from public office. (EHP)