MALACAÑANG on Thursday defended the suspension order slapped on Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia insisting that it was done lawfully.

The Palace, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), maintained that no laws were violated when the Executive office and Department of Interior and the Local Government issued and served the suspension order against Garcia stemming from the complaint of the late vice gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr. in 2010.

In a 29-page opposition, the Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza countered Garcia’s petition that the Executive office and the Interior department violated the Local Government Code of 1991 by implementing the order pending her appeal arguing that Executive office’s ruling in administrative cases is “final and executory and an appeal does not prevent the decision from becoming final and executory.”

Citing Sections 67 and 68 of the government code and two Supreme Court decisions, the OSG questioned Garcia’s argument that the administrative complaint against her should have been dismissed because the Sanchez is already deceased in April 2011 and not one substituted in his behalf.

The Solgen argued that death of a complainant does not automatically extinguish the case against a respondent.

“Once an administrative complaint is given due course, the government becomes the real aggrieved party and the complainant’s death will not exonerate the public official of administrative charges,” it stated.

The government lawyers pointed out that Garcia signed the appointment papers of contractual employees for the vice governor’s office in 2010 and charged their salaries to the budget allocation for the vice governor’s office. They were, however, removed in 2011 for “unknown reasons.”

“This evokes malice and bad faith,” Jardeleza stressed. “This counters the very purpose of the local government code, which is to distribute power among elective local officials, allow a check and balance.”

Garcia has stood her ground, kept herself in her office since Christmas as she vowed not to heed the wishes of Malacañang to leave her post.