Isabela gov asked PBBM to appoint wife as envoy to Japan

Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano III admitted he personally requested President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to appoint his wife, Mylene Garcia-Albano, as the Philippine envoy to Japan.

Albano stated that his wife's appointment, the first for a Filipino woman to Japan, was made to leverage her position to help secure Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) studies vital for the Cagayan Region's flood mitigation master plan.

He acknowledged this arrangement might provide an "unfair advantage" to Isabela and the Cagayan Region, which frequently suffers from typhoons and flooding.

Albano was abroad, in Germany and Switzerland, during previous typhoons that devastated Isabela in November 2024 and again in late 2025.