Saying he could not allow Pampanga to be left behind in the Philippines\u2019 advance toward progress, President Benigno Aquino III on Friday fielded Catholic priest Eddie Panlilio as his administration\u2019s candidate for governor in the province controlled by the followers of his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
\nThe President also endorsed Panlilio\u2019s running mate, lawyer Ma. Amalia Tiglao-Cayanan, Mayor Oscar Rodriguez and lawyer Vivian Dabu as the Liberal Party\u2019s official candidates in Pampanga\u2019s third and second districts.
\n\u201cI know that Pampanga will be in good hands under their leadership, and I am sure that it is only toward progress that they will lead the people of Pampanga,\u201d Mr. Aquino said in Filipino in a speech during the induction of 1,000 local leaders of the ruling Liberal Party in this province.
\nBy fielding Panlilio, a priest since 1980, Mr. Aquino sees the election in Pampanga as a battle between reform and patronage politics, represented by Arroyo\u2019s bosom friend, Gov. Lilia Pineda, whose husband, Rodolfo \u201cBong\u201d Pineda, had been investigated by Congress in one attempt to eradicate the illegal numbers game \u201cjueteng,\u201d a source of corruption in local governments. Pineda has long been suspected as a jueteng lord.
\nMr. Aquino is banking on his popularity to break the Pinedas\u2019 grip on Pampanga and bring the agriculturally productive province into the centerpiece program of his administration, good government.<\/p>\n
Choosing politics
\nPanlilio has \u201copted to leave the priesthood and apply for a dispensation from the priestly office,\u201d according to Fr. Larry Sarmiento, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of San Fernando.
\nSarmiento said Panlilio made his decision after meeting with Archbishop Paciano Aniceto on Thursday.
\n\u201cWith a heavy heart, the archbishop has decided to respect Among Ed\u2019s decision in conscience to leave the priesthood in favor of politics,\u201d Sarmiento said, using the local honorific term for showing respect toward Panlilio.
\nPanlilio said he applied for dispensation in 2010, but it did not progress in Rome.
\nLiberal Party president Joseph Abaya, the new secretary of transportation and communications, led the oath-taking of the local party leaders at Heroes Hall here.
\nInterior Secretary Mar Roxas, LP president-on-leave, Sen. Franklin Drilon, who serves as LP campaign manager, and LP Secretary General Mel Sarmiento were also at the oath-taking.
\nStand together
\nPresident Aquino urged the LP recruits to be united, saying the pace of progress speeds up through cooperation.
\n\u201cWe now have the chance to advance not only Pampanga but the whole nation as well toward the realization of our vision,\u201d Mr. Aquino said.
\n\u201cGive me a chance to help you. I cannot let Pampanga be left behind in the progress that is being attained by the Philippines,\u201d he added.
\nMr. Aquino said he would \u201cadvance the full liberation of Pampanga.\u201d
\n\u201cRemember this: If the local leadership is inefficient, the future of our people will remain bleak,\u201d he said.
\nHe then turned to Panlilio, and urged him to \u201clead Pampanga again as governor.\u201d
\nShowing its approval, the audience broke into applause and cheers for Panlilio.
\nThird time around
\nPanlilio, 58, is running for public office for the third time.
\nHe defeated reelectionist Gov. Mark Lapid, the son of Sen. Lito Lapid, and Provincial Board member Lilia Pineda in the 2007 gubernatorial election.
\nIn February 2010 he was unseated by the Commission on Elections, which proclaimed Pineda the winner after a recount of votes that did not include ballots destroyed in a fire.
\nIn the May elections that year, Panlilio challenged Pineda but with all Pampanga towns controlled by Arroyo\u2019s allies, he lost.
\nSarmiento said the Archdiocese of San Fernando was drafting a new dispensation request, which would be signed \u201cthe soonest\u201d by Panlilio, who remains suspended from the priesthood.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong. I love the priesthood,\u201d Panlilio said. \u201cWhen I talked with the archbishop, I said I don\u2019t blame you if it took you so long to accept me back. Perhaps it\u2019s God\u2019s way of opening another door for me to offer another expression of my priesthood,\u201d he said.
\nWhich one is better?
\nLike most politicians, Pineda went to church to hear Mass before filing her certificate of candidacy on Friday.
\nShe told reporters that she would ask Pampanga voters to \u201cwatch and listen\u201d to Panlilio\u2019s platform of government so that they could decide which was the best for the province.
\nPineda said health and social services would remain her priorities, but she would also give attention to agriculture and job creation.<\/p>\n