Panlilio to run again vs Pineda

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines  – President Aquino announced here yesterday that priest-turned-politician Eddie “Among Ed” Panlilio would be the administration’s candidate for provincial governor in the 2013 elections.

Panlilio, running under the Liberal Party (LP), will again be pitted against incumbent Gov. Lilia Pineda, who is seeking reelection with her son Dennis Pineda as running mate under the local party Kambilan.

Fr. Larry Sarmiento, spokesman for the Archdiocese of San Fernando, said that Panlilio requested Pope Benedict XVI for dispensation yesterday morning, a few hours before the President arrived at the Heroes’ Hall here to lend support to local LP candidates.

“The dispensation letter is being prepared by Msgr. Edgar Pangan and it will soon be forwarded to Among Ed for his signature. Then the archdiocese will forward it to the Vatican for approval of the Pope himself,” Sarmiento said.

He said a dispensation letter prepared by an archdiocese “is usually approved” by the Pope.

“We are preparing the dispensation letter because Among Ed is now interested in politics and has the desire to leave his priestly ministry,” he said.

Sarmiento stressed, however, that the dispensation should not be interpreted politically because “the Church is non-political.”

Panlilio has remained under suspension by Catholic authorities in the archdiocese headed by Archbishop Paciano Aniceto since he opted to run for governor in the 2007 elections.

The suspension, which in effect was a form of dispensation, never reached the Vatican.

“This time, the Vatican’s approval of the dispensation would formalize everything,” Sarmiento explained.

He also explained that despite the dispensation, Panlilio would remain a priest “but his priestly powers would be taken away from him.”

This means that while his priestly functions could be clipped, he continues to be bound by his vow of celibacy.

Some 2,000 LP members and their supporters gave Panlilio a standing ovation that lasted two minutes after the President named him gubernatorial candidate.

At the provincial capitol about a kilometer away, Pineda and other local candidates of the Kambilan party were filing their respective certificates of candidacy (COCs) with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), as their entourage of supporters clogged traffic that lasted for hours along MacArthur highway.

Some LP local candidates who attended the LP meeting with the President were held up by traffic on their way to the Comelec.

Panlilio’s former provincial administrator, lawyer Vivian Dabu, also filed her COC for the 2nd district congressional seat, challenging incumbent Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Dabu, LP’s official bet, filed her COC at the Comelec provincial office here affixing her alias as “Ate Vi,” pitting her against “Ate Glo.”

She was born in Lubao, Pampanga and is said to be a 5th degree relative of the President on her mother’s side. 

On Wednesday, Arroyo, through her son, Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, filed her certificate of candidacy for her reelection bid.

In his endorsement of Dabu, President Aquino called on the LP members to shun transactional politics.

Dabu, however, was a subject of administrative cases filed by two capitol employees during her stint as provincial administrator. The Civil Service Commission dismissed the cases.

Aquino enumerated the alleged anomalies that transpired during Arroyo’s time and promised to bring change to the province.

He also urged the LP members to live by the party’s principle of putting the good of the country and people above everything and expressed high hopes that the new party members would work with the government in effecting reforms and lasting development in the country.

The President also witnessed the oath taking of 96 LP candidates for various positions.

Panlilio, San Fernando City Mayor Oscar Rodriguez and City College of San Fernando president Lourdes Javier welcomed the President.

Also in attendance were other government officials led by Sen. Franklin Drilon, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Transportation Secretary acting LP president Joseph Emilio Abaya, and Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang. – Ric Sapnu, Aurea Calica