Isabela governor backs Noynoy - Mar tandem

Isabela Governor Grace M. Padaca Saturday endorsed the presidential and vice presidential bids of Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas III saying they possess the qualities of leadership that will serve the country best.

Speaking at the Manila Bay Breakfast Club forum at the National Press Club last Friday, the governor said "we should put the right people in the government so that the country will prosper and give our people hope."

She said she had declined the Liberal Party's offer of a senatorial slot in favor of running for reelection "because there are many things yet to be done in Isabela."

She said it was not right to say that she was withdrawing from the presidential race because she did not aspire to become president, adding that there were supporters who were egging her to run for president. She said she had to come out openly for Aquino and Roxas because aside from their great chances of winning, they have good and untainted record in the government.

She said it's sad that there really are good materials in government who have the credentials to run for president but they are not winnable.

In the same forum, she appealed to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to save the corn industry in her province which was drastically hurt when the government started to import wheat, even as corn production cannot compete because of rising costs.

Isabela farmers have been hurting since the government started to import wheat and left the corn farmers in the cold, who cannot even recover from costs of fertilizer and pesticides, given the reduced prices of their harvest these days.

Isabela, she said, is the country's number one producer of corn.

She also appealed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to allow the province to do what it would want with the logs it has confiscated from illegal loggers for local use.

She impressed the audience with her report on how she used stern fiscal management policies so that she could pay the provincial government's P1 billion deficit. She said she has never hesitated from pursuing and implementing correct management policies even if it would hurt some people initially because they soon