SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT, AND THESE two governors proved themselves equal to what seemed like an impossible task.

And while there’s no formula for it, they have shown that winning on a platform of good governance against powerful political clans can be done anywhere in the country.

“I’ve been asked a lot of times if this can be duplicated elsewhere. And my answer is, ‘Of course. I didn’t start it. Grace Padaca did,’” Pampanga Gov. Eddie “Among Ed” Panlilio said in a talk Friday night.

Panlilio, a priest on leave, captured the public imagination when he ran against and defeated two political heavyweights—Gov. Mark Lapid, the then incumbent, and Lilia Pineda, a close friend of President Macapagal-Arroyo’s—in the 2007 gubernatorial election in Ms Arroyo’s home province.

His phenomenal victory came three years after Padaca, a polio-stricken broadcast journalist, thrashed the then incumbent Gov. Faustino Dy III in the Isabela polls, ending the Dy clan’s 40-year dominance in the province.

Padaca won a second term in 2007 by defeating another scion of the Dys.

Surprisingly, money was never a problem for the two political neophytes.

Strangers, students, young professionals and even nuns, among others, offered cash and other resources.

Said Padaca: “A junk shop owner who said he wanted change after 40 years let me use his car during the 45-day campaign, took care of the fuel, and asked his son to drive for me.”

Pagasa’s hope

Governors Padaca, 44, and Panlilio, 54, spoke about their experiences in their first forays into politics at a forum organized by Pagasa—the People’s Assembly for Genuine Alternatives to Social Apathy—at the Philippine Education Theater Association theater in Quezon City.

As its name suggests, Pagasa is a spiritual-cultural movement with the goal of creating a better country.

Its founder, Nicanor Perlas, described the two governors as symbols of “new politics” who could serve as an inspiration for others in the 2010 national elections.

“If we know the underlying force that expressed support for their candidacy in the coming few years, especially 2010, there’s an unusual opportunity for all Filipinos of goodwill to change our society,” Perlas said, referring to the power of an organized citizenry.

Sense of the divine

Panlilio and Padaca admitted that they decided to challenge the well-entrenched incumbents at the polls because no one else wanted to do it.

“No one wanted to fight the Dy-nasty in Isabela,” said Padaca. “There were some who dared, but because they were always overpowered anyway, they’d always lose.”

While each lacked a party and a well-oiled machinery to run a campaign, there was a groundswell of support from people who were desperately seeking a change in leadership.

It helped that Panlilio is a priest, and Padaca, a broadcaster on local radio for 14 years.

After Panlilio filed his certificate of candidacy, leaders of varying faiths set aside their religious differences and showed up at his campaign headquarters to offer support and volunteer work. Students, housewives and lawyers also came.

“They saw in the crusade a sense of the divine. The campaign was not just about me, but about a dream of courageous Kapampangan for the kingdom of God, where the conscience of every person is guided toward fullness of life,” said Panlilio, who was dressed in his trademark white T-shirt, blue jeans and sandals.

He added: “I found I wasn’t alone. I was joined by men and women of goodwill who were willing to take a risk.

“Ours was not just a moral crusade; it also transformed itself into a divine crusade.”

Padaca, who traveled to Isabela’s far-flung villages in the course of her campaign, recalled:

“When they heard my voice, people rushed out of their homes to see me. So I was spared the difficulty of a house-to-house campaign. They were excited to see me.”

New wine

After winning the vote, the next logical step was to embark on a new campaign that “sells the idea of good governance and responsible citizenship,” Panlilio said.

In his first few months in office, the Pampanga governor focused on improving tax collection and stamping out corrupt practices, like suppliers bribing officials to get contracts approved.

“Suppliers lowered their bids dramatically after being reminded that the days of SOP (standard operating procedure, a euphemism for commissions) are over,” he said.

This has earned Panlilio more enemies among local officials. But he said: “We have to convince both civil society and the civil service to take on new wine into new wine skins by way of governance and example.”

Quarry revenues soar

During Panlilio’s first 10 months in office, the provincial government of Pampanga collected some P200 million in quarry revenues.

His administration drafted a three-year executive agenda and presented this to the people for comments in the spirit of “consultation and collaboration.”

It took steps to streamline the bureaucracy and boost the capacity of district hospitals, and is studying ways to ensure prompt delivery of services without cutting corners.

“It is not enough that change be manifested within the halls of government. The citizenry bears an equal burden in the process of transformation,” Panlilio said.

“In other words, a responsible citizen must never surrender his rights for the sake of a passing comfort,” he said.

Still governor

Padaca spent her first three years in office trying to build on the gains of her victory, but Dy’s supporters in the provincial capitol made this difficult.

“If they can’t kill your body, every day they will try to kill your spirit. I had to live with all the blows that came my way, with all the dynasty people that I was surrounded with,” she said.

“But ladies and gentlemen, I’m still governor, and Isabela is free from the dynasty,” she added.

On her second term, Padaca is focusing more on improving the lot of her constituents.

She is set to meet with Environment Secretary Lito Atienza to stop illegal logging in Isabela, and with Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to boost rice production in the province.