Before her election to the governorship, Gov. Gwen Fiel Garcia instituted various reforms at the Cebu Provincial Capitol as consultant on systems promotion and development, and as consultant on financial affairs for then gov. Pablo Garcia.
Prior to this she was the consultant on economic development for Ormoc City and led the implementation of reforms on fiscal, budget and project management.
She is an A.B. Broadcast Communications graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman Quezon City. She graduated valedictorian at the St. Theresa’s College, Cebu, in her elementary years, and was a consistent honor student in high school.
She is deputy secretary general for Visayas of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), chairman of the board of the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Council (MCBMB) and the chairman of the Board of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).
She is also the chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC-7), the first woman to be appointed to the post.
She created the Provincial Tourism and Heritage Council, a multi sectoral body tasked to promote tourism and conserve our Cebuano heritage, and the Solid Waste Management Board to assist local government units in managing solid waste.
With your own father, himself a giant in public service, as your immediate predecessor, and your being the first woman governor of Cebu, how have these apparently daunting challenges affec-ted you from Day 1 of your term?
When the people of the Province of Cebu elected the incumbent’s daughter, and the first woman, for the job, the message was clear: the people wanted continuity on the one hand, and change, on the other.
The challenge has been to build on the foundations that my father has laid down, but to apply new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things, to accelerate progress and delivery of services. My father left the province a P2-billion surplus. The challenge is to make that surplus work for Cebu and the Cebuanos.
On top of the inherent problems of the job, your tenure has been assaulted, or threatened with assault, by the opposition and the move to dismember Cebu province. It’s a lot of distraction, to be sure, but what opportunity are you getting from it?
The supreme irony is that the moves to divide Cebu have united the people against it. This is a case of gross political miscalculation by people who have because they remain stuck with the old, traditional political analyses grossly underestimated a people.
Now that the people have proven that they want unity, I am left merely to prove that unity works.
You have been seen to use power to protect your political turf. Is that the main service of power: power to conserve power?
Power for power’s sake is a self-defeating proposition. You merely accelerate power’s capacity to feed on, and consume, itself. I have been accused of many things, but one thing I will never confess to is being simple-minded. History teaches us that the more you hang on to power, the more you lose it. Power, in order to mean anything, should mean the power to change.
Let me give you a specific example. When some towns delayed submitting requirements for our Phil-health indigent enrollment program, I issued a memo to our treasury department to withhold the release of financial assistance to towns who have not complied with the requirements. Because I wielded the power and used it we will, this year be able to enroll more than 75,000 indigent families all over the province.
How have you used your influence to promote the public good? Let’ be more specific on public good. What have you done to make Cebu province a better community? What have you done to improve the lot of the people in the towns, some of which, your critics say, have been neglected by the province?
When we launched our road rehabilitation and maintenance program through outsourced equip-ment, the very first provincial roads we repaired were in Bogo, Pinamungajan and Tuburan. When I embarked on a program to help municipalities put up their own Level-3 water systems, the first towns I helped were Bantayan, Madridejos and Sta. Fe. Our road asphalting program of 156 kilometers this year will benefit all I repeat, all towns and cities in the province. Our Philhealth indigent enrollment program was offered to all towns. We are providing insurance to all barangay tanods and barangay health workers in all towns and cities. So I think all this talk about “neglect” is squid tactics. For instance, why are the worst roads in the province national roads? Look at the Barili-Aloquinsan road. Look at the Asturias-Tuburan road. Look at the Tabuelan-San Remegio Road. Where did all the pork barrel go?
This year, 400,000 indigent individuals who can barely feed themselves will not have to worry about getting sick because they have healthcare insurance. And since we did this in partnership with the municipalities and cities, we have proven that “unity” is not an empty sentiment. Again, unity works.
Are there new concepts in governance that you wish to explore during your term?
|
We already are exploring new concepts. While all the district hospitals around the country were cursing the darkness about doctors and nurses leaving for abroad, we chose to light a candle. We outsourced medical manpower to a private provider and now, we have 100% manning in al 18 district hospitals in the province, including those in the islands.
On salaries and benefits alone, we saved from 15-20% per position. And since these private doctors and nurses and other personnel have been recruited on a part- time basis from hospitals in the city, our constituents in the municipalities are, little by little, getting the same level of service as they would get from, say, Cebu Doctor’s Hospital, or Chong Hua Hospital. And when we are dissatisfied with their performance, we can have them changed in a minute, since they are not our employees. When one is absent, the agency is required to fill the position within a few hours or suffer a penaly.
When we outsourced our road rehabilitation and maintenance equipment requirements, we did, in one month, what normally took our regular engineering task forces six months to do. And we did it at only 25% of the cost.
I have noticed that you have gone beyond the boundaries of the province in spreading goodwill and governance ideas. Do these “no borders” moves indicate a revised concept of being a leader or an expanded role in future electoral contests?
The President paid Cebu the supreme compliment by calling our province “a strong province. . . a model for a strong republic.” With this compliment comes this responsibility for Cebu to become a beacon of hope, and Cebu should not shirk from it.
I never think about future electoral contests. I leave some members of my family to think about that. I will not be distracted. I believe that I should govern and govern well. And when you perform and deliver, the politics will take care of itself.
How is your being a woman an advantage in your job? How is it a hindrance, aside from difficulty in climbing the Capitol rooftop or scaling some mountain?
But I never had difficulty climbing the Capitol rooftop. . . I’ve been called “first woman governor” so many times I’m beginning to feel like a relic. I don’t look at it as an advantage or a hindrance. It is, rather, a fresh perspective.
I believe change is a woman force. Perhaps because we are the womb from which life springs, or our distinct cycles reflect the changing of the seasons. Men are interested in preserving the status quo and building monuments to the past. Women give birth, and, most importantly, try to sustain life, and nurture it. That is how I view my job. To give birth to fresh ideas that will last.
You are a great believer in public perception of yourself and your job at the Capitol. Is this the reason why, they say, you “coddle” media?
One cannot “coddle” the media. At least, not the legitimate media. And the illegitimate media have absolutely no credibility that there’s really no use “coddling” them.
If some say I “coddle” media, it is perhaps because I make myself accessible. I do so because it is also my responsibility that the people are informed that their government is working. I also understand the need for information from a media person’s perspective because I am a mass communications graduate. So, I respect them: I am forthright; I do not withhold more information than is necessary; I do not dismiss their questions; I do not insult them with tired, old lines that deaden the senses. And when I am misquoted, or feel that I have been unfairly treated, I complain. That is not “coddling” media. That is a relationship between equals.
What do you see for the province in the next decade or so? How much of what you see will you be a part of?
My vision is quite clear: Cebu as the center of tourism, information and communications technology and services in this part of the region. On the infrastructure side: 400 kilometers of asphalted provincial roads; a Level-3 water system in every barangay; 100% electrification of all sitios. In health, four Philhealth-accredited provincial hospitals in the north, south, east and west. And in healthcare, 100% indigent enrollment.
My role is to begin at the beginning. The end is only a distraction.
You may say a Sugbuak is unimaginable. What if it happens? How will you prepare Cebu and Cebuanos for such an eventuality?
Sugbuak will never happen because the people have rejected it. And it is not my job to prepare them for it. My job is to fight to keep this province intact because we should not tamper with the past, or lose sight of the strengths of the present. Or worse gamble with our future.
|
