Gwen still, as it should be    

It is very difficult to write about Gwen Garcia if the intention is to justify why she deserves another term as Cebu governor. As somebody I once described as a woman with balls, she is simply too consistently good as a performer and courageous as a leader that I just do not know where to start or what to highlight. So let me just begin by saying I see no reason why she does not deserve a fresh term.

I also do not have space to list down all her accomplishments, why Cebu continues to be a leader among provinces under her watch and a source of pride to its people. But as I have to put a finger on something, let me make it two; The COVID 19 pandemic and supertyphoon Odette. Yes, COVID is still here, and not all have fully recovered from Odette. But we are where we are in large part because of the woman with balls.

To me, COVID and Odette were a definer of men, or women, with balls or otherwise. They tested the mettle of leaders like they have not been tested before. COVID in particular provided no leader anywhere with a ready template with which to craft the proper response. One had to imagine, innovate, invent. One had to be bold treading uncharted waters.

But more importantly, and this is what I think makes Gwen a cut above the rest, one has to understand perfectly one's role as a leader. One cannot be a leader in name only. One has to live it. True leadership must be displayed. People must be moved by it, situations shaped by it. This has always been the Gwen on many occasions, but none more crucially than during COVID and Odette.

Some leaders carry a big stick to be effective. And often in this largely ill-disciplined country of ours that may be necessary. So I have no problem with that. But Gwen has a more effective way of projecting leadership. I remember her first foray into politics and became the first woman Cebuanos elected as governor. First thing she did was climb the Capitol dome. Her message was clear: She was in control. She meant business.

It did not come as a surprise that she would adopt soon after the mantra of "buhat ang pasultihon, dili sulti ang pabuhaton." Never an armchair governor, she was all over the place, the most workaholic governor Cebu has ever seen or will ever see in a long time. One often wonders where she gets the energy, given her slight physique. Until one gets it that she gets it from an innate desire to serve.

Early on during COVID, Gwen knew right away that her hands would be full and that as much as leadership requires all hands on deck, messaging and the mental picture of leadership is just as effective in carrying it out. Remember those crazies who made fun of social distancing by drinking tuba from glasses balanced on long sticks and posted a video of them laughing mockingly over their folly?

Well, to their great misfortune, Gwen saw the video and had them arrested. That singular act of swift decision-making effectively drove home the message that health protocols were not to be trifled with. And by going after the mockingbirds who thought being in some hinterland far up north made them not worth anyone's while bothering, Gwen made it known to all how seriously serious she was.

Gwen is, of course, not perfect. Maldita, hambugera. These are some of the words I have heard used to describe her. But these are just personal opinions that really have nothing to do with the task of electing someone to lead Cebu at a time when COVID is still around and the looming effects of a widening Ukraine conflict about to squeeze the world harder. It all boils down to true and tested leadership.