After her resounding victory in the May, 2007 elections, Governor Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia is well on her way for a second consecutive term as the first woman governor in its 437 years existence as a province. She follows in the footsteps of her father, highly admired and respected, Governor Pablo Paras Garcia, who held the post for three consecutive terms.
During her first term, Governor Garcia laid the groundwork for the 12-point agenda of her administration, putting into place economically viable development programs that efficiently respond to the needs of the Cebuano constituency - in Infrastructure, Water, Power, Health, Education, Agriculture and Food Production, Women, Business, Tourism and the Environment.
In her first three years as Governor, Cebu Province asphalted over 300 kilometers of provincial roads, spread throughout Cebu's 47 municipalities. Level III water supply systems were established where they are needed most, and the provincial government implemented several water supply projects, the first of which was a P10 million project in Bantayan Island.
Through MOAs with two of Cebu's biggest power companies, Gov. Garcia successfully negotiated a system of making it easier and cheaper for government to provide electricity to barangays that have yet to enjoy the benefits of electrification.
In the area of health, the Province of Cebu achieved several historic firsts. Under a counterpart scheme with participating Local Government Units (LGUs), Cebu Province has enrolled more than 80,000 indigent families with Philhealth, cited as the single biggest enrollment in the history of Philhealth and in the country.
Through the Provincial Tourism and Heritage Council, a multi-sectoral body of which she is the Chairman, programs were created to promote tourism and conserve the rich cultural heritage of the Cebuano. The Suroy-Suroy Sugbo, a high-impact and successful tourism program, was institutionalized to promote Cebu's cities and towns.
Gov. Garcia was unanimously elected as Chairman of the Regional Development Council in September, 2007. She is also the Chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council, making her the first woman to be appointed as such; with a firm declaration against terrorism. Gov. Garcia is also the Deputy Secretary General for Visayas of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), Chairman of the Board of the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB), and Member of the Board of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).
Last January 10 - 15, 2007, the Province of Cebu hosted the historic 12th ASEAN Summit and the 2nd East Asia Summit in the Cebu International Convention Center, an architectural feat that paid tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Cebuano, and completed in record time through the tireless efforts of Governor Garcia.
Governor Garcia is a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communications graduate from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. She was a consistent honor student in her elementary and secondary years in St. Theresa's College in Cebu.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has always believed that governance is not an exclusive right but a participatory process. With her at the helm of the Provincial Government, we can look forward to a more fruitful partnership between government and the private sector, to bring Cebu to unprecedented heights of progress and development.
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