Lilia Pineda won't run if Among Ed is recalled

CLARK FIELD (PLDT/WeRoam) — If denizens of the ivory towers of the Ateneo and the board rooms of the Ayala district want to foil the recall of Pampanga Gov. Eddie “Among Ed” Panlilio, maybe they should just keep their distance.

The cabalens think they are mature and sophisticated enough to know what to do with such a simple Yes-or-No matter. Meddling by outsiders who are not even Pampanga voters is counter-productive.

To busybodies who lecture to Capampangans on good government and civic duty, thank you. As it was in the historic 2007 local elections, again the cabalens will know what to do with the campaign to force the early removal of their governor.

And if many of those who voted for Panlilio now think they made a mistake, why should outsiders presume to step in and tell them otherwise?

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SIGNATURES: Panlilio’s adversaries aim to gather 100,000 signatures of voters from the 20 towns and the capital city of San Fernando to satisfy the requirement of RA 9244 that at least 10 percent of voters must sign the recall petition.

Under the Local Government Code, an elective local official can be recalled on the mere pretext of loss of confidence.

But assuming enough signatures are collected, their verification by the Commission on Elections can still be a big stumbling block. A smart lawyer can pose objections over every signature and delay the process till it dies a natural death.

Panlilio himself said he was confident the recall would fail, lamenting that it is politically motivated.

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OUTSIDE SUPPORT: But practically all mayors (with the possible exception of San Fernando Mayor Oca Rodriguez) and the members of the provincial board, including its presiding officer Vice Gov. Yeng Guiao, favor recall.

Also, the most avid supporters and financiers of Panlilio during the 2007 campaign, and even some of his staff, have left him for one reason or another. Days ago 17 priests from various parishes joined the recall move.

One has to strain to find people of consequence who are still for Panlilio. The priest-turned-politico now has to look beyond Pampanga to find significant support, such as from theoreticians in the academe and some Ayala moneybags.

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WHO’LL RUN?: One big question troubling Capampangans is: If Panlilio is removed, who will take over?

This is one of the reasons why many voters hesitate to sign the recall petition. They are afraid that Panlilio’s departure would signal the return of Lilia Pineda, wife of alleged jueteng lord Bong Pineda.

Mrs. Pineda, who ran and lost to Panlilio by only 1,147 votes, has a protest pending with the Commission on Elections.

We got word, however, that Mrs. Pineda would not run in a recall election. (A recalled governor is automatically in the running.) We got the information from Mrs. Lolit Hizon of the giant processed-food chain “Pampanga’s Best” and from Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo.

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LET HIM BE: My own attitude as a concerned Capampangan is that Panlilio has not been convicted of any wrongdoing and is presumed to be clean until proved otherwise.

“Loss of confidence” is a political question that should be decided by the people in the next elections in 2010. That is better than indulging in a divisive, disruptive recall and an off-season fight that will cost at least P50 million.

Panlilio has been in office just a little more than a year. Despite that, he has shown administrative ability and a clean, clear vision.

As for chismis about his private life, if any crime has been committed, his detractors should just file the proper charges in court.

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SAYANG: Let me close with these remarks of Robby Tantingco, director of the Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies of the Holy Angel University, batting for Panlilio:

“The good fight that we fought and the victory that we achieved over old-style politics would be all for naught. The miracle of people power that stirred the imagination of the democratic world would amount to nothing, after all. The long months of sacrifice by so many heroic people, including the ultimate sacrifice made by that one martyr from Betis, would all be squandered by one weak moment of disunity.

“There are some of us who walked away from Among Gob because, well, we went back to our daily lives. There are those who were disillusioned with him, either because his promised reforms are too slow in coming or because he refuses to fire his controversial administrator. And I’m sure there are those who left because they thought it was payback time and got offended when Among Gob did not give them any favors.

“Well, whatever your reasons for leaving are, you can set them aside because we have a bigger problem at hand: We are in danger of losing not just Among Gob. We are losing this one golden chance of regaining our pride as a people.

“Pampanga has a history of greatness. We were already a nation with a fully functioning civilization before the Spaniards colonized us. Yet even the Spaniards were amazed at the beauty and richness of our land (they called Pampanga “the new Spain”) and by the character and talents of our people (they called Kapampangans “the Castilians of these islands”). They were so impressed with Kapampangans that they entrusted their entire army to us and opened their exclusive schools to us. Thus, we produced the first Filipino priests, doctors and writers, achieved a golden age of literature, became the capital of the Philippines, and helped this country gain its independence.”

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