Grace Padaca

Maria Gracia Cielo “Grace” Padaca was born to school teachers in Cauayan, Isabela in 1963. At three years old, she was left paralyzed for life due to polio, forcing her to use crutches. In 1984 she graduated from the Lyceum of the Philippines University with a degree in Accounting[2] but went into journalism and political commentary, working for the Cauayan branch of the national radio broadcaster Bombo Radyo in 1986 as an accountant, program host and later assistant station manager. She also worked as an auditor at the Commission on Audit and the Government Service Insurance System and as an accountant in a hacienda owned by businessman Enrique Zobel.[3]

Padaca’s stint at Bombo Radyo turned her into a household name in Isabela with her criticism of the ruling Dy political dynasty, illegal gambling rackets (jueteng) and logging. In 1995, Padaca helped galvanize residents to vote no to a proposal that would have partitioned the province of Isabela into two halves, which was supported by the Dys. Aside from her usual commentaries, she had the provincial anthem broadcast every hour.[4]

Padaca ran for Congress as representative of Isabela's 3rd congressional district in 2001 but lost to Faustino "Bojie" Dy III, by a margin of 1,285 votes (he got 50.7 percent of the vote to her 49.3 percent). She protested the results of 151 ballot boxes. Dy countered, questioning the results not only of the 151 precincts but all 812 precincts. Padaca initiated what she called an "Adopt A Ballot Box" campaign to raise funds to cover the cost of a ballot box revision. After two and a half years, the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), in a decision promulgated on December 18, 2003, declared Dy the winner by 48 votes. The majority of the HRET refused to count ballots with "Grace" written on them in favor of Grace Padaca.

Padaca won the 2004 gubernatorial election in Isabela with 55% of the vote.

On December 5, 2007, United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney personally conferred to Padaca the International Women of Courage Award, an award which was also conferred to former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It was bestowed on Padaca for her continued development of Isabela.[5] On July 31, 2008, she was among the eight winners of the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Award, for Government Service for "empowering Isabela voters to reclaim their democratic right to elect leaders of their own choosing, and to contribute as full partners in their own development."[6]

Padaca campaigned against illegal logging problems.[7] Padaca reactivated the anti-illegal task force.[8]

Padaca, Governor Eddie Panlilio of Pampanga, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, and Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, launched Kaya Natin, a group that "seeks to recruit principled local government officials to change the country's deteriorating political situation." Their 'Islands of Hope' - university campus tour, a movement for ethical leadership and good governance was launched on July 31, 2008, at the Ateneo de Manila University's Walter Hogan Conference Center in Quezon City.[6][9]

In the 2010 election Padaca was defeated by three-term congressman Bojie Dy with a margin of 3,438 votes.[10]

In 2012, an arrest warrant was issued against Padaca over a graft case filed in 2006. She was bailed by her ally, President Benigno Aquino III but was convicted by the Sandiganbayan in 2019 and was sentenced to up to 24 years imprisonment, a P36-million fine and perpetual disqualification from public office.[11] However, she appealed and secured the court’s reversal of her graft conviction while upholding her conviction for malversation.[12] She remains free pending another appeal. In a separate case, Padaca was fined P4000 by the Sandiganbayan in 2017 after pleading guilty to not filing her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from 2007-2010.[13]

Padaca was appointed by President Aquino to the Commission on Elections in 2012, but her appointment was not confirmed due to her pending graft case, and she was not reappointed after being bypassed by the Commission on Appointments in 2014.[14]

In 2016, Grace Padaca ran again for Governor but lost to reelectionist Bojie Dy by over 300,000 votes.[15] In 2019, she ran for Vice Governor, allying with a Napoleon Dy, a half-brother of Bojie who fell out with the latter. However, the Dys reconciled before the campaign period began, leaving Padaca on her own to run as a candidate of Aksyon Demokratiko but losing again to the outgoing Governor, who received 483,392 votes to Padaca’s 166,972.[16]

• The Economist, "Limping Forward" vol. 374 no. 8418 p. 47