Pineda grateful for vote recount

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – Former senior provincial board member Lilia Pineda yesterday said she is in favor of the recount of votes from the 4,847 precincts of the province in the last elections.

Pineda said she is grateful to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for its decision to uphold the protest she lodged against Gov. Eddie Panlilio.

“Even if it’s too late, and even if it seems to drag on, I’m still grateful that my protest was approved,” said Pineda. “The important thing here is that our ‘kabalens’ must know who won in the last elections.

“If the recount shows that Panlilio was really the winner, then our ‘Kabalens’ will have no doubt that he really won the elections. But if he did not win, then he should accept the results of the recount,” Pineda said.

She said she filed the protest because her supporters and leaders were uncertain about the counting of votes in their respective areas

“They were looking for my votes in their precinct. In the recount, we will know what was done wrong with the ballot boxes. I am willing to wait for whatever result,” Pineda said, adding that her lawyer, George Garcia, will handle the recount.

She said she will not run again for the gubernatorial seat because she can serve the Kapampangans even as an ordinary person.

Pineda, who was optimistic of winning the gubernatorial contest, lost by a mere 1,147 votes to Panlilio, an independent gubernatorial bet.

According to her supporters, her defeat is “highly questionable” because the election returns they gathered suggested that she won by as much 10,000.

The Supreme Court recently upheld the decision favoring Pineda’s petition to recount the votes.