Dy warns vs communist control in Isabela

CAUAYAN, Isabela — Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. yesterday warned of a possible communist takeover in the province in case his election rival, Grace Padaca, whom he accused of conniving with left-leaning organizations, presides as governor of the country’s third largest province.

Dy, whose family politically has controlled the province since the family patriarch, the late governor Faustino Dy Sr., won as governor here in the early 1960s, said the Communist-backed New People’s Army (NPA) here would only take advantage of the Padaca’s leadership.

"Definitely, the communists will play a major role with my rival’s taking the reigns of the provincial leadership," warned Dy, the acknowledged political heir of the late Faustino Sr., this province’s longest-serving governor.

Dy claimed they have more than enough evidence showing Padaca’s link with NPA leaders and other left-leaning groups in the province.

"Aside from the (Catholic) Church, my rival is also conniving with the communist groups here," he said.

Once Padaca takes over the governorship, Dy said, she would allow them (Church, NPA, other left-leaning groups) to take a major role in charting Isabela’s future, with the communist groups here getting the bigger share in Padaca’s administration.

Padaca, he said, has to pay debts of gratitude to all fronts — CPP-NPA, the Church and rival politicians for her ‘election.’ "Isabela would be in disarray if all these fronts meddle in Padaca’s leadership. Definitely they will."

Dy said the NPA members here, to save their existence in the province, supported Padaca, whom they would be lording over.

During the campaign, he said, the rebels have worked hard campaigning for Padaca, threatening and intimidating village officials and residents to vote for their candidate.

"We have more than a thousand affidavits to prove our claim that these rebels have terrorized our poor residents to vote for Grace Padaca," Dy said.

He said that the rebels could hardly terrorize the ordinary residents with him as the governor, "that’s why they have to resort but to making alliances with my rivals just to put me down."

Meanwhile, Dy maintains he won in the recently-concluded elections against Padaca. He said that he leads Padaca by 15,000 to 20,000 votes based on the election returns retrieved by his volunteers.

However, in the provincial canvassing, the former Bombo Radyo broadcaster posted a margin of 29,473 votes over the incumbent governor — 165,398 against 135,925.

The provincial board of canvassers, however, excluded the certificates of canvass (COC) from six towns for alleged irregularities.

Dy claimed that the unaccounted towns were his political bailiwicks, the results of which were more than enough to overtake his rival’s present lead.

Meanwhile, Isabela Bishop Sergio Utleg appealed to the Comelec for the speedy resolution of the case filed by Dy, which calls for Padaca’s disqualification.

The provincial board of canvassers suspended the proclamation of Padaca the other night on orders of the Comelec’s first division, pending the resolution of Dy’s petition to the poll body calling for Padaca’s disqualification for alleged "terrorism."

"I hope there would be a decision before June 30." If not, I think there would be chaos," said Utleg, who also warned the Comelec not to railroad the will of the electorate.