Gwen denies link to controversial contractors

Local

FORMER Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia strongly denied having personal or political ties to contractors linked to the flood control scandal.

This as several projects were recently flagged for alleged irregularities, with Cebu ranking among the top recipients of such infrastructure nationwide.

On Monday, September 8, Garcia faced the media for the first time since stepping down when she held a pressonference at her office in Oakridge Business Park, Mandaue City.

The former governor addressed persistent rumors connecting her to Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and his wife Sarah, who earlier testified before the Senate on alleged kickbacks in government projects.

“I don’t know these Discayas but naa naman ang mga pangalan… Basaha, pangitaa kuno akong ngalan kung naa ba,” Garcia told reporters, stressing that her name has never surfaced in any official testimony or record.

Garcia also rejected insinuations that she had ties with Engr. Allan Quirante of QM Builders, a contractor based in Dumanjug town.

Garcia emphasized that while she and Quirante come from the same hometown, she has no personal connection to the Quirantes.

She explained that the contractor himself often claimed his ties were with her late father, former governor Pablo

“Pabling” Garcia, not with her.

“Wa’y single project na si Allan Quirante. The records will speak,” she said.

Garcia also pointed out instead that his company still owes the Capitol nearly P100 million for quarry violations tied to unpermitted extraction works along the Naga City side of the Metro Cebu Expressway.

Garcia also disclosed that Quirante once asked her to serve as principal sponsor for his son’s wedding, but she turned it down because of the controversy surrounding his company’s involvement in the expressway.

“Kung ana pa mi ka-BFF, ako gyud mag-una didto kay trophy ninang gyud ko kay gobernador gud. But I said no. Why? Because we have collectibles from QM,” she added.

Garcia further explained that while her administration awarded bulk water contracts in Malabuyoc and Alegria, the contractor presented to her was identified as SBK, not the Discayas.

During the briefing, Garcia stressed that her administration “has not funded a single centavo” of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects in Cebu, distancing herself from any allegations of benefitting from them.

Earlier, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos presented records showed that QM Builders, owned by Quirante, and the Discaya-linked firms Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp. and St. Timothy Construction Corp. were among the top 15 contractors that cornered the largest share of flood control projects from 2022 to 2025.

Her remarks came after incumbent Governor Pamela Baricuatro ordered an audit of 154 province-funded infrastructure projects in light of the flood control scandal.

Among those flagged were bulk water systems in Alegria and Liloan allegedly tied to Discaya-owned firms.

Cebu has recorded 414 flood control projects since 2022, making it the second province in the country with the most number of such projects, next only to Bulacan.

The regional office of DPWH here has earlier maintained that no ghost projects exist in the region.(MyTVCebu)