Ombudsman Samuel Martires has cited outgoing Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for indirect contempt, imposing a P30,000 fine for her defiance of a preventive suspension order issued in April. Martires, in a document dated June 10, labeled Garcia an “icon of defiance” and an “ungovernable autocrat” for refusing to vacate her office. The decision was sent to media on Friday, June 13.

The six-month preventive suspension against Garcia, issued on April 23 and served by April 29, aimed to ensure a fair investigation into her alleged involvement in an anomalous quarrying permit granted within a protected area in Cebu.

“Your defiance of the Ombudsman’s 23 April 2025 Preventive Suspension Order is a clear case of resistance and disobedience to the lawful processes of this Office,” Martires stated in the document. He asserted that Garcia’s explanations “stood on hollow ground,” citing a Supreme Court en banc ruling (Gobenciong v. Hon. CA, Deputy Ombudsman (Visayas), et al.) which affirms the immediate executory nature of preventive suspension orders.

Martires emphasized that given the immediately executory nature of the order, Garcia’s only lawful course of action was to vacate her office. “During the intervening period from 29 April 2025 to 14 May 2025, you had no legal authority to discharge the functions of governor,” the Ombudsman told Garcia, clarifying that a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) does not have retroactive application.

In response, Governor Garcia, whose term ends this June with the assumption of Governor-elect Pamela Baricuatro, questioned the basis of the contempt citation. In a statement to reporters on Friday, she pointed out that the Court of Appeals (CA) had already issued a TRO against the implementation of the preventive suspension on May 15.

“In fact, several media outlets reported that the Office of the Ombudsman has filed a Motion to Quash on the said CA order. This, in effect, acknowledges the existence of the TRO,” Garcia stated. She directly asked Martires if, by citing her for indirect contempt, he was “insisting now that he does not respect the Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Court of Appeals?”

Garcia had previously claimed that her continued stay in office was based on legal advice and that she did not defy any order because of the CA’s TRO. She publicly declared on April 30 that she would not vacate her post until clarifications were received from relevant agencies like the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The case stemmed from Garcia’s decision to grant a special quarry permit in the Mananga River, part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape, without securing environmental clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Complainant Moises Garcia Deiparine alleged grave abuse of authority and a violation of Republic Act 6713. Garcia countered that the permit was a proactive measure to address water shortages during the 2024 El Niño phenomenon, serving public interest.

Garcia, who lost her recent reelection bid by over 340,000 votes, has also hinted at political motivation behind the case, suggesting it might be retaliation for her cease-and-desist order against Apo Land and Quarry Corp. in March.