PJ Garcia: I won’t run for governor in 2013
I wish to state that I am not running for Governor of the Province of Cebu (or any other province) in the 2013 elections.” <br />
This was the statement reiterated by Cebu 3rd District Rep. Pablo John “PJ” Garcia amid rumors that he will run for governor in 2013. <br />
“The governorship, I have learned, from my father, then my sister, is the highest honor that one’s own people can bestow upon anyone,” he said in a press conference yesterday in his rest house in Pinamungajan town, southern Cebu.<br />
“I feel at this point that I have not done enough for the entire province of Cebu… And while I am heir to a name that has continually shown itself politically viable for the governorship, I am likewise burdened by a principle: Dili sulti ang pabuhaton; buhat mao’y pasulti-on.” <br />
PJ, who ran under One Cebu party in the last elections asked party mates to strike his name off any list of possible candidates for governor. <br />
The congressman said he wanted to serve his district for a third and final term. <br />
He said he prefers to serve Cebu’s third district where he has “done more than I pledged to do, where I can try to continue building a name, instead of relying solely on it.” <br />
He, however, said One Cebu has not yet decided who will run for governor in 2013. <br />
The Garcia family has not discussed their political future, he said. <br />
“I don’t think the governor has decided if she would run for 2013,” he said, referring to her sister, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who is on her third and last term. <br />
Last March, when pressed for her 2013 plans on ABS-CBN’s late night talk show “The Bottomline,” Gov. Garcia said, “I am keeping my options open.”