18 Facts About Grace Padaca

Maria Gracia Cielo "Grace" Magno Padaca was born on October 25,1963 and is a Filipino politician and former journalist who served as governor of Isabela from 2004 until 2010.

Grace Padaca is a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 2008.

Maria Gracia Cielo "Grace" Padaca was born in 1963 in Cauayan, Isabela to Bernardo Padaca and Amelia Magno, both of whom were public school teachers.

In 1995, Grace 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.

Grace 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.

Grace Padaca initiated what she called an "Adopt A Ballot Box" campaign to raise funds to cover the cost of a ballot box revision.

Once in office, Grace Padaca immediately set out to implement a progressive platform, focusing on fiscal reform, livelihood improvement and environmental protection.

Grace Padaca instituted a comprehensive overhaul on provincial finances that reduced the provincial government's debt by two-thirds and led to budget surpluses by the time she left office.

Grace Padaca implemented a price support fund with the National Food Authority that allotted a P5-per-kilo subsidy for the purchase by the NFA of rice and corn from farmers.

Grace Padaca implemented significant reforms in the bureaucracy such as augmenting the incomes of public attorneys with a P2,000 monthly allowance, expanding PhilHealth coverage to include up to 700,000 individuals, investing around P98 million in premium payments and doubling the allowances of barangay health workers.

Grace Padaca campaigned against illegal logging by reactivating the anti-illegal task force.

Grace Padaca intensified anti-logging patrols though the creation of a forest protection task force in 2006 for the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, one of the last remaining areas of virgin forests and biodiversity in the country.

Grace Padaca ran for a second term in 2007 as a candidate of the Liberal Party, running against former Governor Benjamin Dy.

However, Dy petitioned the Commission on Elections for a recount of 683 ballot boxes from 12 towns, alleging that thousands of votes for Grace Padaca were written by a single individual.

Grace Padaca 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.

Grace 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.

In 2016, Grace Padaca ran again for Governor but lost to reelectionist Faustino Dy III by over 300,000 votes.

Grace Padaca was played by Janice de Belen in a portrayal of her life in the GMA Network drama anthology series Magpakailanman in 2004.