KDP STATEMENT

Gov. Ed Panlilio Recall Campaign: A Malacañang Orchestrated Scheme

Less than 18 months into his first term as governor of Pampanga, “among” (Fr.) Ed Panlilio faces a well-funded recall campaign against him. The recall campaigners, organized as Kambilan, keep mum about the source of their finances though the province is awash with stories about money flows from Malacañang and the jueteng lord and lady. Circumstances nevertheless expose the forces and their motives behind he recall move.

The Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya - Central Luzon (KPD-CL) sees this as another case of Malacañang’s handiwork. In the kind of elitist politics the Philippines has, how could Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) be relaxed and comfortable with her own home-province if its governor is neither her ally nor supporter? Its less than 2 years before the 2010 elections!

Just a few months into his post as governor, Ed Panlilio exposed the P500,000 payola he received when he went to Malacañang. This was his second, but bigger sin against the Malacañang resident. But among Ed’s original sin was defeating the Malacañang -favored gambling queen and quarry prince gubernatorial candidates in the May 2007 elections.

Fr. Ed was the people’s reluctant candidate. The Pampanga residents were tired and fed-up with 12 years of harlequin governorship that was consistently marred by corruption, especially on the quarry operations. They wouldn’t take a jueteng queen for a replacement. So the people sought a priest to be their candidate.

KPD views the victory of Gov. Ed Panlilio, like that of Gov. Padaca of Isabela and a few mayors, breached the prevailing elite politics of local dynasties. These were few and isolated cases of people’s assertion of their will through electoral struggle.

The peculiarity however of among Ed is not only his being a priest. He is the governor of a first class province where the home town Lubao of GMA is located.

Whatever his limitations, mistakes and shortcomings in the last 15 months should be viewed and judged in the particular circumstances that his governorship is in.

As in the election period, among Ed would have to rely on the people in this new challenge being thrown against him by the forces of corruption and gambling riddled elite politics. The people would have to defend their gains or these are reversed by the Malacañang’s breed