Gov. Rodolfo Taguinod Albano III was born in Cabagan, Isabela on March 2, 1959. He is married to Atty. Mylene Garcia Albano, the first Philippine woman ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Japan. They are blessed with one child, Rafael Alfredo G. Albano, now 25 years old. He is the eldest son of undefeated Congressman Rodolfo B. Albano, Jr.
Gov. Albano finished his elementary and secondary education at La Salle Greenhills, Manila in 1976, graduated with the degree AB-Political Science at De La Salle University, Manila in 1981.
A dedicated public servant, Gov. Albano started his political career as Kabataang Barangay (KB) chairman in the municipal, provincial and regional levels from 1980-1985 and served as Mayor of Cabagan, Isabela from 1988-1998. His eagerness to serve elevated as he ran for Congressman in the 1st District of Isabela, which he won and held the office from 1998-2001, his first term as congressman. From 2002-2004, he served as the Executive Director of the Joint Congressional Power Commission Secretariat. In 2004, he again ran for Congressman, won and served for two terms from 2004- 2010. He became Vice Governor of the province in 2010-2013, and after one term, he served in Congress for two consecutive terms from 2013-2019.
His burning passion to serve pushed him to continue his public service. He was elected Governor in 2019. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte as Chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC) Region 02 which he held from 2019-2022.
Anchored on his commitment to provide assistance to the poorest of the poor, Gov. Albano continued his visual health project which he started since he was congressman, the “Sagip Mata, Sagip Buhay”, which provides free prescription eyeglasses and eye care services to all Isabelenos. Started as a special project when Gov. Albano was congressman in Isabela first district, a door-to-door program dubbed, “Handog Tulong for PWDs”, is now institutionalized to reach out and deliver much needed assistive devices such as adult wheelchairs, pedia wheelchair, single cane, pedia walker and quadcane, delivered right at the doorsteps of PWD-beneficiaries.
Under the stewardship of Gov. Albano, the Provincial Government of Isabela is reaping awards including the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) conferred by DILG in 2019; the Pearl Awards for Best Tourism Practices of the Philippines given by the Department of Tourism on 2019; the 2020 National Rice Achievers Award given by the Department of Agriculture (DA); and the 2021 Best Local Fiscal Management Practice During Covid-19 Pandemic in the area of Efficient Allocation of Funds and Resources given by Department of Finance — Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF).