OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Region VII, Cebu Governor

Address:
Provincial Capitol Cebu City, Cebu, 6000 

Contact Number:
Tel: (032) 888-2328
Local: 1024

Email:
cebugov2019@gmail.com

GWENDOLYN GARCIA

Gwendolyn F. Garcia is the first woman to be elected as governor of Cebu, the country’s premier province. She had served for three consecutive terms from 2004 to 2013, and is the only Cebu governor to come back for a fourth term in 2019. In the 2022 elections, she yet again carved another milestone by becoming the first Cebu official to have breached the one-million-vote mark when 1.478 million Cebuanos gave her a most resounding vote of confidence — with a lead margin of over 1.1 million votes over her closest rival.  

Under her watch, Cebu became debt free and the richest province in the country in terms of assets, now standing P215 billion, according to a 2021 Commission on Audit report. She runs Capitol like a business enterprise: efficiently and professionally, with the best interest of Cebu and the Cebuanos as her guiding principles in crafting policies and decisions.  

Cebu also led the way for the entire country in terms of pandemic responses and post-pandemic recovery efforts during the health crisis caused by Covid-19. She was the first local chief executive to reopen tourism in as early as August 2020, junked the required RT-PCR tests for travelers coming to Cebu, and made the wearing of facemasks optional in open and well-ventilated spaces. While those were criticized, the policies were soon adopted by the government for nationwide implementation.  

Her visionary leadership salvaged Cebu from the pit of the disaster when the double whammy of the pandemic and Supertyphoon Odette devastated the province. Instead of letting the Cebuanos adopt a mendicant mentality, she introduced programs so Cebuanos can fend and help themselves.  

Sugbo Negosyo helps micro and small entrepreneurs jumpstart their businesses by giving them entrepreneurial trainings and capital. Sugbo Kahanas provides free skills trainings for Cebuanos, especially those who lost their jobs during the pandemic. The Enhanced Countryside Development hooks up entrepreneur-borrowers with financial institutions at very low interest rates. The Sugbusog Program, a backyard gardening initiative, made Cebuanos productive and provided them with nutritious food at the height of lockdowns. Today, the program is adopted by all levels of local government as well as households, public schools, police stations, and Capitol-run hospitals. The Caravan of Provincial Government Services makes sure that despite the lockdowns, Cebuanos would still have access to basic services such as medical, dental, optical, laboratory, legal, and agricultural, among many others.  

Capitol allocated P1.8 billion for the Dasig Sugbo Program to expedite the recovery efforts of over 400,000 households in 32 local government units that were affected by Supertyphoon Odette in December 2021. Through QR-coded cards, beneficiaries not only purchased food and housing materials from partner stores but also helped stimulate the local economy that was also in bad shape.  

Cebuano culture and heritage have taken center stage under her administration. The Suroy-Suroy Sugbo was revived after the pandemic. Its latest installment had Capitol leading 11 busloads of participants in touring the northern Cebu. The Pasigarbo sa Sugbo, Festival of Festivals, also made a comeback, with the entire One Cebu Island taking part in the grandest festival showdown this country has ever seen. The CPDRC Dancing Inmates are also making waves, a concrete proof of the transformative brand of leadership that she has been displaying through the years. 

Today, Gov. Garcia has become a unifying force in Cebu, with the entire island, including the highly urbanized tri-cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, now looking to her for guidance in crafting important policies. Indeed, Cebu is now called One Cebu Island, thanks to the trailblazing leadership of Cebu’s Iron Lady and the Governor of the People – Gwendolyn F. Garcia.  

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