Tet Garcia

House of Representatives

Garcia entered politics in 1987 when he was elected Congressman representing the 2nd district of Bataan. He then returned to Congress in 2013 as the representative of Bataan's 2nd district, serving for one term.

Governor of Bataan

In 1992, he was elected as the Governor of Bataan. He lost a recall election in 1993.^[1] He later returned to serve as Congressman from Bataan's 2nd district from 1995 to 2004. In 2004, he was elected again as Governor of Bataan, and won reelection in 2007. He ran as the incumbent Governor of Bataan in the 2010 elections, and won with 212,808 votes, which resulted in an almost 80,000 vote margin.

Vice governor of Bataan

In 2016, he successfully ran for Vice Governor of Bataan as the running mate of his son, Governor Albert Garcia, but died on June 13, 2016, just days before he could assume office.^[2] He was 75.

Petrochemical Industry

During Garcia's first term in Congress, from 1987 to 1992, he became widely known for vigorously and ultimately successfully fighting to keep the petrochemical industry in the province of Bataan.^[3] Arguing that the transfer of the petrochemical plant to Batangas was unfair to Bataan and to the Philippines as a whole, he fought the plant's transfer all the way to the Supreme Court in a landmark case. On August 24, 1990, to emphasize his belief in the truth and importance of what he was fighting for, Garcia took an emphatic leave of absence from the House of Representatives and vowed to resign if the petrochemical plant's transfer was not stopped.^[4] Garcia had filed a petition before hand asking the Supreme Court to stop the transfer of the Petrochemical plant to Batangas. On November 9, 1990, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued its final decision on Garcia's petition, G.R. No. 92024 ^[5]

Bataan Polytechnic State College

In February 1998, Garcia was able to get his bill creating the Bataan Polytechnic State College (now the Bataan Peninsula State University) passed into law, titled Republic Act No. 8562.^[6]

Cityhood of Balanga

During his congressional term from 1998 to 2001, Garcia was able to get his bill converting the municipality of Balanga into a city, passed into law in December 2000.^[7]

Taxation

From 2000 to 2003, Garcia devised and recommended simple solutions on how to stop the BIR check tax payment loopholes in the Bureau of Internal Revenue.^[8]

On October 27, 2003, the Department of Finance finally adopted Garcia's recommendations by issuing Clearing House Operating Memo (CHOM) No. 375.^[9]

On May 9, 2008, the Philippine Clearing House Corporation through Clearing House Operating Memo (CHOM) No. 427, adopted an additional recommendation of Garcia, which was to have the name of the government institution indicated on the tracer band to be painted/sprayed at the back of the checks. According to the memo, this would act as an "additional control/tracing point for the banks in proving their inward cheques that are payable to the BIR or BOC."^[10]

Bataan Iskolar Ng Bayan Program

The provincial government of Bataan under Governor Garcia started the Iskolar ng Bayan scholarship program for college students in 2004. As of early 2010, there were 9000 current scholars. The scholarship program is open to college level students who are permanent residents of Bataan. The scholarship can be used for any college level institution, whether inside or outside the province.^[11]

In 2008, Garcia's office contributed ₱20,000,000 (equivalent to ₱30,093,170 in 2021) to the program, while Congressman Albert Garcia of the 2nd district of Bataan contributed ₱10,000,000 (equivalent to ₱15,046,585 in 2021) to the program. Mayor Joet Garcia further contributed ₱10,000,000 to the program.^[12]

Mandanas–Garcia Ruling

During his tenure as Governor, Garcia and Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas petitioned Supreme Court of the Philippines for a higher share of national internal revenue taxes for local government units, leading to the Mandanas-Garcia Ruling, named after them.^[13][14]