The Filipino Profiles

Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia (born October 12, 1955), commonly known as Gwen, is the Governor of the Philippine province of Cebu. She was first elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2007. She is Cebu’s first woman governor. Garcia won by 7,000 votes in Philippine general election, 2004 and a historic half a million in Philippine general election, 2007.

Gwendolyn is the eldest daughther of Pablo P. Garcia and Judge Esperanza “Inday” Fiel-Garcia, who had 8 children (4 sons). Lawyer-Congressman Pablo John Garcia (born in Cebu City on May 19, 1967) is the youngest. Her other brother Byron, is a security consultant for the Cebu provincial government, and caught global attention in 2007 due to Thriller (viral video). Her other brother, Winston Garcia, is the incumbent manager of the Government Service Insurance System (Philippines).

Garcia was a consistent honor student in elementary and high school at Cebu’s St. Theresa’s College. She previously earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Communication from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She was awarded with the Honorary degrees of Doctor of Humanities from the Cebu Normal University (CNU) and Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management from the Cebu State College of Science and Technology (CSCT).

Prior to being elected as governor, she was responsible for instituting various reforms at the Cebu Provincial Capitol as Consultant on Systems Promotion and Development for three years. Earlier, she was Consultant on Financial Affairs and assisted the then Governor Pablo Garcia in effectively expanding the Province’s coffers.

She was active in the private sector as chairperson of the Leyte Cooperative Bank from 1996 to 1998. She is, since 1998, president and CEO of the GGC Group, Inc.

She is the head of the Regional Development Council, the Regional Peace and Order Council, and chairman of the Visayas RDCom (comprising RDC 6, RDC 7 and RDC 8), the Deputy Secretary General for Visayas of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), Chairman of the Board of the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB), and Member of the Board of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).

Other Information

• Name : Gwendolyn “Gwen” Fiel Garcia
• Birthday :  October 12, 1955
• Father : Pablo P. Garcia
• Mother: Esperanza “Inday” Fiel-Garcia
• Schools Attended :
  • Elementary and high school,Cebu’s St. Theresa’s College
  • Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Communication, University of the Philippines, Diliman
  • Honorary degrees of Doctor of Humanities, Cebu Normal University (CNU)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management, Cebu State College of Science and Technology (CSCT)

Career Highlights

• Consultant on Systems Promotion and Development
• Consultant on Financial Affairs
• Chairperson, Leyte Cooperative Bank (1996 to 1998)
• President and CEO of the GGC Group, Inc. (since 1998)
• Head, Regional Development Council
• Regional Peace and Order Council
• Chairman of the Visayas RDCom (comprising RDC 6, RDC 7 and RDC
• Deputy Secretary General, Visayas of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP)
• Chairman of the Board, Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB)
• Member of the Board, Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA)
• Governor, Philippine province of Cebu