A topnotcher in the 1951 Bar Examinations (3rd place), he was a distinguished trial lawyer, law professor, and respected constitutionalist.

His daughter Gwendolyn succeeded him as governor in 2004, while his son Pablo John was elected to Garcia's previous congressional seat in 2007.

[citation needed] His son, Byron, the former security consultant for the Cebu provincial government, gained attention in 2007 after instituting a program of choreographed exercise routines for the inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) and uploading the routines on YouTube, including the popular Thriller viral video.

[citation needed] In 2010, his son Nelson Gamaliel was elected in large margin as Mayor of Dumanjug, Cebu.

[8] He was elected Chairman of the Committee on Revision of Laws on 7 August 2007; and, when the House leadership was changed, he was consequently appointed Deputy Speaker in May 2008.