Davide invited to Capitol managers’ meeting

Governor-elect recognizes right of One Cebu to question results of May 13 polls

GOVERNOR-elect Hilario Davide III was invited to attend the regular Monday meeting of the Cebu Provincial Government’s department heads to help him prepare for his term, which begins at noon on June 30.

Davide said it was Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale who invited him to today’s meeting, which will give him a chance to begin consultations with different groups, including Capitol’s executives.

He said the Office of the Governor, padlocked for more than three months now, will also be reopened soon, but did not say exactly when.

The office was padlocked on the acting governor’s orders at the end of January 2013, six weeks after the six-month suspension of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia began.

Davide and Magpale were proclaimed governor and vice governor, respectively, last Friday, after leading their opponents by more than 160,000 votes each.

The final count stood at 654,054 votes for Davide and 490,148 votes for Rep. Pablo John Garcia in the gubernatorial elec- tions. Governor Garcia will replace her younger brother as the third district’s representative to the Lower House starting on June 30.

When asked if he plans to change or rehire some Capitol employees, Davide said that has not crossed his mind.

“Wa ta maghuna-huna ana at this time. We need hardworking employees,” Davide said.

He also said he respects his opponent’s right to question the results of the May 13 elections.

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, as One Cebu’s consultant, has said the party will review the election records.

“It’s their right to file (an election protest) or not. Kita pud, we’re ready... The Cebuanos have spoken,” Davide said.

For his part, businessman Glenn Soco said that although he has some doubts on the election results, he no longer plans to file an election protest.

Soco was 167,335 votes behind Magpale in the election for Cebu’s vice governor. This will be Magpale’s first term on the position, as she only assumed the office (from the Provincial Board) when then Vice Governor Sanchez died in 2011.

Soco, who also ran for vice governor in May 2010, said he hopes the election protest he had filed against Sanchez will be resolved soon.

Last May 2012, the Comelec dismissed Soco’s election protest for lack of merit. He asked the commission to reconsider, but was denied.

Soco’s lawyer filed last Sept. 25 a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court, which has yet to de- cide on it.

As to this year’s results, Soco said: “We’ll there is nothing to concede because this is not a boxing match.”

The entrepreneur, who ran on a platform focused on creating jobs and improving skills training in the barangay level, said he no longer plans to run for elective office again.

“I will have to accept whatever happened. That is part of politics,” Soco said. But he added he will continue to promote his advocacy, such as on employment assistance, in his private capacity.