Former Isabela governor posts P40,000 bail for perjury raps

Former Isabela goveror and poll commissioner Grace Padaca on Friday posted a P40,000 bail as she faces perjury charges before the Sandiganbayan for alleged failure to submit her Statements of Assets and Liabilities Networth (SALN) for the years 2007 to 2010.

Padaca personally appeared in the antigraft court Second Division to undergo the usual booking procedures and pay  P10,000 bail for each of the four counts of perjury.

She posted bail after the court issued a resolution finding probable cause to hold her on trial, paving the way for the issuance of an arrest warrant.

“It appearing from an evaluation of the Resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman… that probable cause exists for the issuance of a Warrant of Arrest against accused Maria Gracia Cielo Magno Padaca in these cases for violation of Section 8 of the Republic Act 6713 (4 counts), let the corresponding warrant of arrest and hold departure order against her be immediately issued,” the court said in an Oct. 29, 2015 resolution.

The court then ordered the temporary liberty of Padaca after she posted bail from her charges.

“You are hereby directed to discharge from custody accused Maria Gracia Cielo Magno Padaca, she having posted the required bail for her temporary liberty in the amount of P40,000…only, unless there be other valid reason/s for detaining her,” the court said in an order.

Ombudsman prosecutors filed four informations of perjury against Padaca for violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which require public officials to declare a truthful statement of their wealth, liabilities, properties, and business interests.

The Isabela provincial government supposedly only had on file Padaca’s 2004 and 2006 SALN.

In an earlier statement on its indictment against Padaca, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said Padaca should have her own receiving copies of her SALN because it is “customary and essential” for proper record-keeping.

“It is difficult to fathom how respondent would be unfamiliar with such a practice or that she has not altogether adopted this procedure given her lengthy stint in government service,” Morales said.

Padaca, a polio survivor, served as Comelec commissioner from 2012 to 2014. She was eased out of the Comelec after she was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments.

Padaca already faces separate charges of graft and malversation before the Sandiganbayan for awarding to a nongovernment organization a contract to manage a credit facility in 2006 without public bidding when she was Isabela governor.

Her appointment to the Comelec was controversial ahead of the 2013 midterm elections because it was her friend President Benigno Aquino III who paid for her P30,000 bail from graft and P40,000 bail from malversation. Padaca was a member of the Liberal Party.

Padaca toppled the Dy political dynasty in Isabela when she won as governor in 2004. She was reelected three years later only to be disqualified by the Commission on Elections in 2009 in favor of Dy’s electoral protest. She lost in 2010 by a slim margin.

Padaca has maintained that the charges against her are politically-driven. Saying she was surprised that her SALN were missing, Padaca claimed she has no duty to keep receiving copies of her SALN when filed.