Comelec affirms Panlilio ouster

MANILA, Philippines - Likening Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio to “Chicken Little,” the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has upheld the decision of its Second Division unseating him in favor of former provincial board member Lilia Pineda.

In a 15-page decision, the Comelec dismissed Panlilio’s motion for reconsideration for lack of merit.

“Instead of squarely attacking the issues, the protestee (Panlilio) is quick to paint sordid pictures, that he is a hapless victim and creates a drama out of nothing. He is no different to Chicken Little, who was afraid that the sky is falling,” the Comelec said, referring to a cartoon character Chicken Little.

Last Feb. 11, the Comelec’s Second Division declared Pineda as the duly elected governor of Pampanga and directed Panlilio to step down. The latter, however, questioned the decision by filing a motion for reconsideration.

The Second Division’s ruling showed that after revising the votes from the province, Pineda ended up the winner with 190,729 votes against Panlilio’s 188,718 votes.

In questioning the ruling, Panlilio accused the Second Division of being biased in favor of Pineda “and several other candidates who were supposedly enemies of Malacañang.”

Panlilio also argued that the decision was “hastily done,” raising complaints about the expenses of the revisors, the schedule of the hearings and his lawyers being cited for contempt.

“If protestee (Panlilio) wants to require us to make a detailed ruling per ballot, it not only makes our responsibilities more tedious but would defeat the requirement of expeditious resolution of controversies,” the Comelec said.

It added it found “nothing infirm, anomalous or erroneous” with the Second Division’s ruling.

Reacting to the Comelec decision, Panlilio, who is seeking re-election, said he would not allow Pineda to take over the provincial capitol until the electoral case has been appealed to and decided with finality by the Supreme Court.

For her part, Pineda, who is again running for governor under the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, said she has instructed her lawyer George Garcia not to file a petition for writ of execution of the Comelec decision.

“The campaign period has already exhausted me and I just want to take some rest after the elections,” she told The STAR.

Panlilio’s lawyer Ernesto Francisco, however, said the Comelec decision was “immediately executory” and did not even provide for a 30-day period for Panlilio to file an appeal. – With Ding Cervantes and Ric Sapnu