4 topnotch poll lawyers offer services to priest

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Four of the country’s topnotch election lawyers have volunteered to serve as legal consultants of priest-turned-gubernatorial candidate Fr. Eddie Panlilio.

The four are lawyers Romulo Macalintal, legal counsel of President Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro in the 2004 polls; Sixto Brillantes, who worked for presidential bet Fernando Poe Jr. and his running mate, now senatorial bet Loren Legarda, in the same elections, and at present for the Genuine Opposition; Pete Quadra, one of the legal counsels of Sen. Fred Lim; and Leila de Lima, a former commissioner of the Commission on Elections and legal counsel of the late Sen. Raul Roco.

In a letter to Panlilio Thursday, the four election lawyers offered their "collective voluntary services" to the priest.

"Their decision was based on their conviction about the sincerity and seriousness of Panlilio in seeking the governorship. This is the first time that four top election lawyers are joining forces for a common candidate," said Rommel de Jesus, one of Panlilio’s volunteers.

The four lawyers recently brought their crusade for a cleaner electoral process before the Supreme Court.

"We were quite fascinated when we learned of a priest running for office," Macalintal told supporters of Panlilio after meeting with the priest here the other day.

"We asked influential leaders in Pampanga about his person, his background and his platform. What we heard encouraged us to give him our support. We would like to be a part of the resurgence of principled politics. Hopefully, this will become a seed that will transform the social landscape of the whole country," he added.

De Jesus said he was "impressed by the steady flow of volunteers (for Panlilio) from different walks of life."

"Most were asking for campaign materials for distribution in their respective hometowns, while others came in with their donations of leaflets, posters and T-shirts," he said.

Panlilio, fondly called Among Ed by his supporters, is running on "a platform of clean and good governance, consultative and participative leadership with focus on uplifting the lives of the poor, efficient delivery of basic services, and environmental protection."

Panlilio, who filed a leave of absence from his ministry as parish priest of Barangay Betis in Guagua town, has been dubbed as the "alternative" to "two evils" in the gubernatorial race.

While there are six candidates running for Pampanga governor, re-electionist Gov. Mark Lapid and provincial board member Lilia Pineda are perceived as the major contenders.

Lapid is facing graft and other charges for alleged anomalies in the collection of lahar sand quarrying fees, while Pineda’s husband, Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda, was tagged as a big-time gambling lord during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada.

Panlilio earlier admitted that he had no funds and a machinery to support his candidacy and that he would rely merely on volunteerism. However, three days after he filed his certificate of candidacy, as much as P1 million in cash and kind poured in.

His supporters, many of them from the upper and middle classes, also opened at least three bank accounts, including a dollar account, for donations, and even put up a website – www.amonged.org – for him. They also put three video clips of him at youtube.com.

The website mentions two peso savings accounts for Panlilio at AMA Bank and Philippine National Bank in San Fernando, Pampanga, and a dollar savings account also at the same PNB branch.

The website also features a "people’s manifesto" entitled "Toward a Movement for Change and Good Governance," which bewailed Pampanga’s image "as the home province of jueteng and corruption and the seat of illegal quarrying operations."

"In recent years, we, Kapampangans, have witnessed how our beloved province and its people have fallen deep in the clutches of a debilitating social cancer that threatens to destroy every cell of our being," it said.

"We are now in an emergency situation and this calls for emergency measures. We are confronted with an extraordinary problem that calls for extraordinary solutions," it added.

The manifesto endorsed Panlilio’s candidacy, saying, "We humbly believe he is the true Kapampangan we need (in) these times."

The website also features a section on Panlilio’s accomplishments as a priest. – With Sheila Crisostomo