By VERA Files
Newly appointed Elections Commissioner Grace Padaca believes her experience running for public office, and being a victim of dirty tricks during elections, will serve her well in her new job.
President Benigno Aquino III appointed Padaca to the Commission on Elections, where she will serve until 2018. She replaces Commissioner Augusto Lagman whose nomination was turned down by the Commission on Appointments.
Padaca is best remembered for running against and defeating Faustino Dy Jr., the former Isabela governor whose family that controlled politics in Isabela province for decades.
Her victory was hailed as the triumph of good governance against political dynasties, and she served two consecutive three year terms from 2004 to 2010, when Faustino Dy III wrested control of the governorship from her.
Padaca said she was a victim of dirty politics, when she ran for Congress in 2001 against the powerful Dy clan and lost. She said the experience will help her empathize with candidates going up against powerful opponents.
She is of the founders of Kaya Natin ‘to, which calls itself “a movement for good governance and ethical leadership.”