CEBU CITY — Face your cases like a man.
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia had this advice to former Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, who decried politics for his conviction for graft.
“My advice to Mr. Durano: Face your cases like a man. Stop whining. And certainly stop impugning the integrity of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan,” Garcia.
Garcia and Durano will be facing each other for the gubernatorial post in May 2022 elections.
The 7th division of the Sandiganbayaqn has found Durano and five others guilty of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) after they allegedly skipped bidding processes for a wall-calendar project in 2008 that costs around P2.7 million.
The project was implemented when Durano served as Tourism Secretary from 2004 to 2010.
Durano questioned the timing of the ruling, saying it only came up after he decided to run for governor.
Garcia, however, lashed at Durano for blaming politics behind the conviction.
“I understand the information was filed against Mr. Durano sometime in 2017. And the Office of the Ombudsman filed a case against Mr Durano on March 22, 2019. I was not even governor then, on both dates. So how could it be politically motivated? By clairvoyance?” Garcia said.