LINGAYEN – Acting Governor Marilyn Primicias-Agabas defended the assumption of her husband, Provincial Board Member Tyrone Agabas, as acting vice governor of Pangasinan.

Primicias-Ababas, who assumed as acting governor when Governor Amadeo Espino Jr. left for the United States since November 4 this year, said there is nothing wrong with the designation of her husband Tyrone as acting governor, because it is by operation of law.

She said she herself assumed as acting governor by operation of law since she is the vice governor of Pangasinan.

Tyrone is a senior board member having registered the highest percentage of votes among all the elected members in the May 14, 2007 polls.

Governor Espino, who left for the U.S. on a business mission, along with two municipal mayors of Pangasinan—Simplicio Rosario of Binmaley and Ernesto Castaneda of Lingayen—will be back in the Philippines on November 22.

Answering critics who wrongly accused her of hand-picking her husband to become acting vice governor, Primicias-Agabas clarified it was not her who made Tyrone as senior board member but his constituents in the sixth district of Pangasinan.

The Local Government Code states that whoever garners the highest percentage of votes among the candidates for board member, shall become senior board member.

Although temporarily, the Agabases became the first wife and husband to ever rule in the history of the province.