CEBU CITY -- “My family never suffered under Martial Law.”
Reelected Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia had this to say as she defended presumptive president Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. from those who are criticizing his impending victory.
“This I can say, and I will say this for myself, my family never suffered under Martial Law but we certainly suffered miserably under PNoy,” said Garcia during her proclamation on Tuesday night at the Cebu Capitol.
It can be recalled that Garcia was slapped with suspension on alleged graft and corruption in 2012 during the administration of the late President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III.
“And all of these cases that they filed against me and all of the accusations to make it appear that the Garcias are corrupt, all of these cases have been dismissed,” Garcia said.
As a son of a former president, who was accused of widespread corruption, Marcos’ candidacy has been met by immense opposition.
The Cebu governor stressed that her family feels for the Marcoses.
“We understand what it is to be unfairly persecuted,” said Garcia, president of the influential One Cebu Party, which endorsed the “Uniteam” tandem of Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
Garcia expressed her ‘profound congratulations’ to Marcos and his running mate Sara Duterte.
The governor added that the Marcos’ impending return to the Malacañang Palace is their shot at redemption.
“This is the time for redemption for their family. That is probably why so many Filipinos have chosen BBM,” Garcia said.
Garcia also urged anti-Marcoses to stop imposing their beliefs on others.
“Their reality is not our reality. It’s not the reality of the masses and they have no right to foist their realities upon the masses who have to get up each day, work each day to put food on their table so their families can eat,” Garcia said.
“So enough of this “let me educate you.” You should get educated on what reality is all about,” the governor added.
In the partial and unofficial results as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Marcos has already garnered 31,088,020 votes.
Marcos’ closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, had 14,814,221 votes.
“I guess there are 31 million of us who are not really so “bobo” after all who believe that there is hope for this country. For those who cannot accept, it’s their choice but we belong to the many Filipinos. You, the elitists, the educated few, whoever you are, if you feel you cannot connect with us, it’s your choice,” Garcia said.
In earning a fresh mandate, Garcia scored a historic victory after she garnered a whopping 1,478,436 votes, sealing a lopsided win over former Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, who just got 341,455 votes.
Garcia became the first gubernatorial candidate to get at least one million votes in the history of Cebu's electoral process.
Vice Governor Hilario Davide III, Durano's running mate, also won in his reelection bid with 788,081 votes.
Davide's opponent, Dr. Tess Heyrosa, tallied 716, 480 votes. Heyrosa is Garcia's running mate.