Comelec unseats Padaca as governor of Isabela

(Update - 7:15 p.m.) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday declared as null and void the term of incumbent Isabela Governor Grace Padaca in favor of former governor Benjamin Dy, who contested the results of the 2007 elections. Padaca, who first rose to power in 2004 when she ended the three-decade reign of the Dy family in the province at the time, has been ordered by the Comelec Second Division to immediately vacate the office of the provincial governor and turn over the post to Dy. "This is a victory not only for my family but also for the people of Isabela who have been clamoring for real change and the fight for clean and honest elections," said Dy, who had accused Padaca of committing "glaring violations" in the last elections. “Thousands of ballots with the same hand writings in favor of my political opponent in several contested precincts were also presented that deprived my candidacy of the needed votes to win the 2007 elections," added Dy, who was at the Comelec main office in Manila to witness the promulgation. No cheating involved Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, who presides the Second Division, said that what happened in Isabela in 2007 doesn't necessarily constitute cheating. He said the poll body just "appreciated" several protested ballots. With the final appreciation of the ballots, the poll body said that the true tally of votes should be 199,435 for Dy and 198,384 for Padaca, or a winning margin of 1,051 in favor of the former. Dy’s legal counsel, Maria Bernadette Sandillo, said they protested the votes cast in Ilagan, Luna, and Cordon towns. Motion for reconsideration In a television interview, Padaca said she will file a motion for reconsideration before the Comelec. She also expressed willingness to elevate the matter to the Supreme Court if the Comelec rejects her appeal. “Hanggang ngayon sinasalbahe pa rin nila kami pero ipaglalaban po namin kung ano ang nararapat kahit na mahirap," Padaca said. (Up to now, these people are still doing us extreme wrong, but we will fight for what is right despite the difficulties.) The incumbent Isabela governor added the decision of the Comelec Second Division is very “shocking" and raised the possibility that the Dys might have influenced the poll body in making the decision. “Nakaka-eskandalo, nakaka-shock na nabaligtad ang mga pangyayari at meron pang institusyon tulad ng Comelec na nagamit para sa bagay na ito," she said. (It's so scandalous, so shocking that the actual events were overturned, and that there are institutions like Comelec that were used for this purpose.) “There were other ways employed to get to such decision," she added. Vendetta politics Padaca’s political party, the Liberal Party, meanwhile said the unseating of the Isabela governor from her post is only part of the administration’s “vendetta" politics against local executives from the opposition. “Biglaang binuhay itong electoral protest laban kay (Isabela) Gov. (Grace) Padaca matapos siyang makipag-alyansa sa Partido Liberal. Halatang-halata na harassment lamang ito (The electoral protest against Gov. Padaca was suddenly revived after she allied herself with the Liberal Party. This is obviously a harassment scheme)," said LP president Sen. Manuel Roxas II in a statement. Roxas added that the Comelec may have compromised its credibility in its latest decision favoring the Dys. “Kredibilidad ng Comelec at ng halalan sa 2010 ang nakasalalay dito. Bakit pumayag ang mga opisyal ng Comelec na magamit ang kanilang institusyon para sa ginagawang harassment ng Palasyo sa mga kritiko nito? (What is at stake here is the credibility of the Comelec and the 2010 elections. Why did Comelec officials allow their institution to be used by Palace for its bullying tactics against its critics?)" he said. Earlier, the Liberal Party and the Kaya Natin movement slammed the Arroyo administration for what they called “vendetta politics" against at least three of the party's governors: Padaca, Ed Panlilio of Pampanga, and Joselito Mendoza of Bulacan. The victories of the three in the 2007 polls were subjected to recount. Both Padaca and Panlilio had vowed to support LP's standard bearer, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, in next year's elections. The Comelec had already ruled against Mendoza on an electoral protest filed against him by former Bulacan governor Roberto Pagdanganan. The decision was released after Mendoza’s Partido del Pilar coalesced with LP for the 2010 polls. The Comelec is set to rule on Panlilio's case later this week. The case was filed by former provincial board member Lilia Pineda, a known ally of the Arroyo administration. Ferrer defended their decisions, noting that the recount cases against the three were filed even before they joined LP. - KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV