THE incoming governor of Cebu, Pamela Baricuatro, has called upon the outgoing administration of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibilities and duties before June 30, 2025.
In a press conference held Friday, May 30, at a hotel in Cebu City, Baricuatro expressed concerns about what she described as an “unnecessarily difficult” transition process by the outgoing administration. She said any delays in the review of crucial documents could result in interruptions to public services and affect Cebuanos.
“I am deeply dismayed by Governor Garcia’s decision to withhold crucial documents until June 30,” Baricuatro said. “Unlike other local government units, Governor Garcia has also barred my team from meeting with her department heads.”
She added: “I’m telling you, Gwen, you are not hurting me. You will be hurting the people of the Province of Cebu. If you have love for the people you will allow a peaceful transition in the province.”
Baricuatro also indicated the possibility of mass resignations among employees and department heads upon her assumption of office. She assured that there would be no mass layoffs, but employees and department heads would be subject to a three-month performance review.
Baricuatro said the outgoing governor’s policies complicate what should be a cooperative process.
The transition teams of Baricuatro and Garcia have yet to convene.
Governor Garcia has formed a transition team, which she chairs, with Dr. Jesus Robel Sastrillo Jr., director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Cebu Province, as co-chairman. Outgoing Vice Gov. Hilario Davide and department heads were named as members.
Former Santa Fe mayor Jose “Titing” Esgana, who is part of Baricuatro’s transition team, recalled that this was not the first time Garcia had made a transition difficult; in 2013, then governor Davide reportedly took at least a month before signing vouchers or checks for fund disbursements due to a backlog of voluminous documents.
For her part, Baricuatro expressed disappointment with the DILG’s perceived inability to act as an impartial facilitator. She suggested that the director could have facilitated necessary meetings or compelled the outgoing administration to cooperate.
“Yet it allowed itself to be named as vice chairman by Governor Garcia’s transition team,” she said. “This places the DILG directly under her authority in this critical process. The DILG must be independent and above local government units to ensure a fair and orderly transition.”
Attempts to reach Sastrillo and Garcia for comment at their respective offices on Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Baricuatro won the 2025 Cebu gubernatorial election, preventing Gwendolyn Garcia from serving a third consecutive and sixth overall term. The political newcomer and former flight attendant turned entrepreneur secured a decisive victory with 1,107,924 votes compared to Garcia’s 765,051.
Transition team meeting
Edmund Lao, a lawyer who leads Baricuatro’s transition team, characterized coordination with the outgoing administration as “inadequate and constrained.” This assessment followed a recent meeting with the DILG Cebu Province on May 29.
Lao said Sastrillo informed his team that there would be no in-person meetings between the incoming and outgoing groups. He also noted that the formal turnover of 40 crucial governance documents would occur on June 30, the same day Baricuatro assumes office.
“We will not have enough time to study the documents’ significance,” he said.
Lao revealed that a letter was sent to Garcia on Friday, requesting an earlier turnover date of June 15 and a separate meeting with department heads beginning June 16.
Lao said if their correspondence with the outgoing governor proved unfruitful, they might escalate the matter to the DILG Central Visayas and then to the Central Office for guidance and assistance.
DILG Memorandum Circular 2025-016 mandates the seamless turnover and comprehensive briefing of key governance documents as a primary responsibility of local transition teams. Lao argued that a mere document handover on June 30, without meetings with department heads, would not meet this requirement.
Lao said there is a need for a reasonable timeframe for a smooth transition, citing the voluminous documents that the incoming administration will receive. He added that Baricuatro’s team requires at least 15 days to review these documents.
Essential documents
Esgana, a finance expert on Baricuatro’s team, listed essential documents needed for the turnover. These include the Annual Investment Program, annual budget, statements of expenditure and utilization, financial and cash flow statements, reports on pending and upcoming projects, ongoing procurement processes, the human resource master list and an inventory of assets and properties.
Esgana warned that delays in the turnover of these financial documents could disrupt activities and programs in the Provincial Government beginning July 1, under the new administration. He added that documents from the Local Finance Committee, composed of the provincial accounting officer, budget officer and treasurer’s office, were particularly crucial.
“If their delaying tactic continues, will the people agree to wait?” Esgana asked. “This is not just a town or city, but a province. There will be disruption of delivery of services.”
He said that fund disbursements for various projects, programs, personnel wages, payable accounts and transactions might be temporarily suspended for an unforeseen period, pending review by Baricuatro’s team.
Esgana said the review is part of the outgoing administration’s accountability. The Provincial Government currently holds P310 billion in assets, P6.015 billion in cash-on-hand and has no debt.
“We cannot allow our governor to sign a voucher or check or a document without verifying first, because the finance committee holds our money in the bank,” Esgana said, noting that the review is aimed at avoiding errors in signing documents. / EHP