In 2004, Gwendolyn F. Garcia was elected as Cebu’s first woman governor on the strength of a little over 7,000 votes.
It was a different time back then. Cebu Province was teetering on the brink of physical division as political forces were engaged in a seemingly endless and debilitating battle of wills that put the government hostage in a gridlock.
Now 20 years later, on the evening of August 20, she delivered her 14th State of the Province Address on her fifth term as governor, and she beamed with pride as she looked back from where she started, wondering with amazement at how far she and the entire Cebu Province had come.
“Tonight, twenty years after, that woman stands before you again, not on a fractured landscape but on solid, united ground, no longer to paint an optimistic sketch of a distant future, but to unveil an enviable picture of a bright and robust present. For it is my honor and privilege to report that the state of the province is strong,” Gov. Garcia said.
“By the grace of God, this united, indivisible, one great Province of Cebu — this Province is now strong. It is super strong!” she added.
While she touted Cebu’s nationwide lead among all provinces in assets, which stands at P309.8 billion, she said this is not the end she desires, as the challenge has always been: 1) to preserve such assets and guard them against waste and depletion; 2) to place such assets in programs and services that alleviate the lives and livelihoods of the Cebuanos; and 3) to grow such assets for future Cebuanos to enjoy and reap benefits from.
Under her leadership, Cebu Province embarks on a torrid spending in infrastructure development, cementing this year 890 kilometers of provincial roads and 264.2 kilometers of barangay roads, with solar streetlights to boot.
Billions have also been poured for Level III bulk water system for at least 25 local government units in the province, providing households with potable water treated from their often neglected, underutilized, yet abundant surface water sources.
In health services, the Capitol is working hard to elevate the DOH accreditation of its provincial and district hospitals, as well as aggressively establish dialysis centers for hemodialysis patients all over Cebu, making it the LGU with the biggest fleet of hemodialysis units at 77, with additional 15 to be installed on September 23 at the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo City.
Under her watch, Cebu funded the insurance coverage of farmers, fisherfolk, teachers, and workers in local governments; prioritized upscaling initiatives such as Sugbo Kahanas and Sugbo Negosyo; promote Cebu to local and international tourists and investors through various local and foreign relations; protect sustainable tourism practices; go all-out in heritage preservations; support the youth’s education; and continuously engage the private sector in beneficial economic enterprises that generate more revenues for the province.
Today, her unique and trailblazing initiatives have become model not only for other LGUs to emulate but national line agencies as well; such as the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo which has become a benchmark for the tourism department’s Suroy-Suroy Pilipinas; as well as digital means of dispensing aid through the QR-coded cards, which have also been adopted by DSWD in distributing AICS funds.
“Cebu is like no other. Ang Sugbo way sama, dili mangopya. Walay sundogan. Kay ang Sugbo maoy sumbanan. (Cebu is like no other; it does not imitate others because it has been made the standard.) When I say this, it is a salute to the uniqueness, the originality and the creativity of the Cebuano spirit,” she said.
(𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 2024)
