THE aunt of President Benigno Aquino 3rd, former gov. Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco of Tarlac province, on Tuesday slammed the Liberal Party (LP) for filing more cases against suspended gov.

Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia of Cebu, claiming this could be part of the LP grand project to strangle its rivals in the 2013 election.

Cojuangco, a senatorial bet of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), pointed to Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd as the “mastermind” behind the moves against Garcia, who is an ally of UNA. Roxas is the president on-leave of the LP.

She maintained that the filing of 16 more cases against Garcia by the ruling party is not in line with the President’s matuwid na daan.

“Mar [Roxas] cannot feign ignorance and one need not be a genius to decipher and know who is behind and who will ultimately benefit from the removal of, and political weakening of Governor Gwen,” Cojuangco added.

Her tirades against the Liberal Party and Roxas came after the party spokesman for Cebu, lawyer Democrito Barcenas, said that the ruling party would file 16 more cases against Garcia for the alleged unlawful use of the provincial government’s buses that transported Garcia’s supporters to and from a prayer rally in the capitol on January 9.

Cojuangco was joined by other UNA senatorial candidates in lambasting the LP for “bullying” Garcia.
Former sen. Ernesto Maceda said that the statement of Barcenas removes all pretenses about the motive behind the suspension.

“The statement confirms that the Garcia suspension is a Liberal Party project and smacks of political harassment,” Maceda said.

Reelectionist Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan 2nd is hoping that “this is not a politically motivated witch hunt and a trial by publicity.”

Ma. Lourdes Nancy Binay, meanwhile, said that the LP appeared to have reserve “due process and respect for the rule of law with its plan to deluge Governor Garcia with cases now that the election period has started.”

Former sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon urged everyone involved to play fair and act with decency.

“Gov. Gwen Garcia was elected by an overwhelming majority of the people of Cebu and has an undisputed mandate in governing the province,” he added.

The President suspended Garcia some 354 days after a usurpation case was filed against her. Vice Governor Agnes Magpale of Cebu, sister of Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras, was named acting Cebu governor.

Garcia, however, has refused to step down and remains at the Cebu provincial capitol. She has asked the Court of Appeals to declare her suspension illegal.