Recall petitioners vs Panlilio up 125,000

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Signatures in the petition seeking to recall Gov. Eddie Panlilio from his post has already exceeded the 100,000 mark needed to pave the way for special elections for governor in this province. At least 125,000 signatures have been gathered.

This, amid plans of the petitioners to seek Malacañang’s funding for recall elections that could cost some P24 million amid the repeated declaration of Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials that the poll body lacks funds.

While the needed signatures have reportedly been reached, prominent supporters of the recall petition refused yesterday to disclose who they are supporting as gubernatorial candidate against Panlilio who, by law, would automatically be also a candidate in recall polls.

In an interview with The Star, Kapanalig at Kambilan neng Memalen Pampanga (Kambilan) president Rosve Henson said that over the weekend, over 125,000 registered voters had already signed the recall petition which cited lack of confidence in the leadership of Panlilio.

He noted that the signatures were solicited by no less than 80,000 persons who were issued identification cards as members of Kambilan and that the signatures had already been “validated” by Kambilan volunteers.

Henson could not say exactly how many had signed the petition, saying that the ID-carrying members of Kambilan continued yesterday to solicit more signatures.

According to law, a recall petition needs 10 percent of the signatures of registered voters. Pampanga has about 977,000 registered voters.

“I think we’d be able to submit the recall petition to the Comelec even much earlier than the initial target in mid October,” Henson said.

Undaunted by Comelec’s lack of funds, Henson said he expected the special recall elections to be held in December or January at the latest.

“It’s the duty of the Comelec to look for funds for the recall elections,” Henson said, although a source from Kambilan who asked not to be named said his group is considering the Office of the President to allocate the P24 million needed for the special polls from its contingency fund.

Earlier, Comelec legal department chief Ferdinand Rafanan said that while only the Comelec is authorized by law to fund recall elections, other government agencies could officially turn over such funds to the Comelec coffers for use in recall exercises.

Henson said that Kambilan will not endorse any candidate in the special polls. “Anybody can run in such special elections. It’s a democratic exercise,” he said.

But he also said that “no one can prevent Kambilan from later endorsing a candidate of its choice from among those who would opt to file their candidacies.”

At the same time, Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, who had acted as spokesperson of the Kampi Party which fielded defeated gubernatorial candidate Lilia Pineda in last year’s gubernatorial elections, signed yesterday the recall petition in the presence of scores of dismissed employees of the provincial government in front of the capitol building here yesterday.

He denied reports that he was being groomed to run for governor against Panlilio. “I am not interested in being governor at this time.

I have a mandate to finish in my town and that’s where I belong,” he told The Star.

Pelayo said that he initially planned to steer away from controversies affecting Panlilio but decided to sign the petition after Panlilio hit the declaration of the Arnedo Park in front of the capitol as freedom park. The provincial board issued the declaration, but Panlilio said the move was meant to agitate picketing former employees who were dismissed from the provincial government’s lahar sand quarrying operations.      – With Ric Sapnu