Eddie Panlilio: Difference between revisions

Eduardo Tongol Panlilio, also known as "Among Ed", is a Kapampangan Filipino Roman Catholic priest and governor of the province of Pampanga. He was suspended from his priestly ministry upon announcing his intention to run as governor. He is the second priest to be elected to public office in the Philippines, the first being Margarito Gonzaga, who was elected mayor of Alburquerque, Bohol in 1971. ^[2]

Eduardo Panlilio was born in Minalin, Pampanga on December 6, 1953. He is the sixth of seven children of Gervacio Cunanan Panlilio and Catalina Tongol. His father Gervacio remarried María Restinia Regala, a principal of San Pedro Elementary School.^[3] He is afflicted with vitiligo, a rare skin disease.

For fifteen years, Panlilio was the director of the Social Action Center of Pampanga (SACOP), which worked with communities displaced by lahar following the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. He has also spearheaded a successful micro-lending program. He also established the Talete Panyulung ning Kapampangan Inc. (TPKI), based on the Grameen Bank-approach. Now on its 20th year, TPKI released P2 billion in loans to small entrepreneurs in Central Luzon.^[4]

After finishing elementary at the Minalin Central Elementary School, Panlilio opted to enroll at the Don Bosco Academy as a sophomore after spending a year as a freshman at the Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades (DHVCAT).

Panlilio was in and out of several seminaries as he went through a long discernment process, and was finally ordained priest in December 13, 1981 (after finishing his Theology Studies at the St. Augustine Major Seminary).

Panlilio, along with two other priests, was suspended from his pastoral duties for running for elected office in 2007. Bishop Leonardo Medroso, chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Canon Law cited a conflict between a role in political parties and in the church.^[5]

Panlilio ran for the position of governor of Pampanga province in the 2007 Philippine general election. Panlilio defended his controversial decision to enter politics as a logical continuation of his ministry for the poor, whom he sees as having been exploited and neglected for too long by successive administrations of corrupt and uncaring politicians.^[6] His experience under the Social Action Center spurred him to announce his intention to run as the governor of the province. Consequently, he was suspended from his ministry, and is forbidden to perform any duties as a priest, including saying Mass.

He won over his two leading competitors, provincial board member Lilia Pineda and re-electionist governor Mark Lapid (both allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), winning over Pineda by a slim margin of only 1,147 votes out of a total of over 600,000 votes cast for all three candidates.^[7].

Eddie Panlilio was inaugurated as the 26th governor of the province of Pampanga on June 30, 2007. Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago of the Supreme Court administered the oath of office. During the inauguration, the new governor vowed to stop corruption and to make the province an example of a “new dawn in Philippine politics”.^{[8] [9]}On July 4, 2007 Among Ed began serving his term amid the province's hope to erase its reputation of being the country's Vatican of "jueteng" or illegal gambling. Pampanga has had a long history of patronage politics and corruption.^[10]

One of Panlilio's achievements in office was to increase the province's revenue from quarry taxes. It is suspected that under previous governors, notably Mark Lapid and Lito Lapid, the large quarry industry was riddled with corruption and graft.^[11][12] The increased tax base has led to fighting among mayors over the new revenue.^[13]

On August 27, 2007, Panlilio campaigned to bring his government closer to the Kapangpangans by leading the caravan "Pamisaupan (Helping One Another)" in Pampanga. Panlilio and his team delivered bags of cement, toilet bowls, boxes of floor tiles and cans of paint to San Luis Hospital which has only 2 doctors, 8 nurses and 10 midwives to serve 140,000 residents of San Luis, San Simon and Candaba towns. Panlilio further vowed to improve the facilities and conditions in the province's 9 district hospitals including the Diosdado Macapagal Provincial Hospital from funds (P143-million development fund) and private groups' contributions. Panlilio stated: What we are doing is bringing the provincial government's services to the people to make health, education and livelihood assistance accessible to them. The capitol's P37-million special education fund (SEF) would be utilized for the SEFs of towns.^[14]

On September 15, 2007, Panlilio, 53, in his 5th "Pamisuan", personally led 348 officials and employees and cleaned the century-old canopy of Pampanga capitol building's façade. Among the eight previous governors since 1938, Panlilio was the second to have led a general cleaning (the first was Juanita Nepomuceno in 1977).

Gov. Panlilio, launched the White Ribbon campaign on October 1, 2007 to engage the people of Pampanga to get involved in the crusade for good governance and good citizenship. Some 70 people gathered and white ribbons marked with words "Good Governance" and handbills with messages were distributed. Panlilio stated: "I believe that the spirit of the white ribbon is still very much alive. This campaign is really a call and for a response to people to be involved in good governance and good citizenship." ^[15]

On October 13, 2007, Panlilio admitted that a palace staff personally gave him a brown paper gift bag with P500,000 (P1,000 bills in 5 bundles, P100,000 each). Panlilio confessed that money changed hands after the meeting "because as a priest and a public officer, I should not lie. I believe that since the money came from Malacanang, I also believe it is public money. So I should be accountable for it and transparent about it." Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called the meeting with 200 officers of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap), an organization of governors, mayors and other local officials. It was held after Mrs. Arroyo met 190 congressmen, where envelopes of P200,000 and P500,000 were distributed. Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco confirmed he was given P200,000 as "Christmas gift."^[16]

Panlilio on June 23, 2008 filed a 6-page complaint-affidavit for plunder against Lubao businessman Rodolfo “Bong" Pineda before the Ombudsman in Quezon City. He accused Pineda of conspiracy with Joseph Estrada, based on the verdict rendered by the Sandiganbayan.^[17]

Pampanga Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, on July 10 led the 69 bishops-signatories (of 80 bishops who attended the July plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines), to petition the Ombudsman, to “really attend to the merits” of the plunder case. Bishop Broderick Pabillo, director of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, on the request of the Pampanga Anti-Gambling Council (PAGC) appealed to the CBCP. The letter states: “In the whole trial of Estrada, the name of Bong Pineda was mentioned several times. But he was dropped along the way. He has been free and no case was filed against him.”^[18]

Integrated Bar of the Philippines (48,000 members in 83 chapters nationwide) president Feliciano Bautista informed Newsbreak newspaper that the bribery expose of Governor Eddie Panlilio triggered hitting the “culture of corruption” in the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration. The advertisement was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on December 17 and in Philippine Star on December 20. IBP called for 3 courses of action: a) "prosecution of cases against corrupt government officials, b) continued Senate investigation on alleged corruption in government contracts, and c) filing of an impeachment case against President Arroyo." ^[19]

Panlilio on June 26, 2008, in his 20-page counter-affidavit filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, moved for the dismissal of the April, 2008 (Vice Governor Joseller Guiao / provincial board / Panlilio supporter Lolita Hizon) corruption (R.A. 3019) suit against him failure to implement the September, 2007 Ordinance 176. DOJ Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez did not act on Panlilio's November, 2007 petition to nullify the ordinance, for it was "not a tax ordinance," further ruling that the P 300 was a "regulatory fee." Panlilio's however, who obtained a temporary restraining order from the Pampanga RTC (challenging Gonzalez's ruling), also asked for the suspension of the Ombudsmand perjury case, on the ground of "prejudicial question" raised by the Pampanga civil action.^[20]

In Diliman, Quezon City, Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, in tears, joined by 18 Pampanga mayors (except San Fernando and Angeles mayors) waged war against Panlilio by means of prayer. The members of the Pampanga Mayors League (PML) on June 26, 2008, attacked Eddie Panlilio due to his "autocratic style of governance" and alleged poor performance in office. The PML released the statement: "Panlilio is a type of leader who loves to project himself in media as good and working governor when in fact he has not accomplished anything significant for the welfare of the Kapampangan and for the development of the province for almost a year in office except the increase in quarry collection." ^{[21] [22]}

Lawyer Elly Velez Lao Pamatong filed a perjury criminal case with the COMELEC Legal Department on June 24, 2008, against Eddie Panlilio for under-declaration of expenditures and contribution receipts: "Contrary to law, Fr. Eddie T. Panlilio, knowingly and maliciously concealed P6,011,329.51 in political contribution and what he declared was only P4,761,699.90."^[23]

On August 21, 2008, an NGO "Kapanalig at Kambilan Ning Memalen Pampanga Inc." (Kambilan), led by its president Rosve Henson, a former election campaigner of losing gubernatorial candidate Lilia Pineda, launched a recall campaign against Panlilio, on the ground of loss of confidence in the governor’s leadership. In the case of Pampanga, the required petitioners must be at least 98,703 which represent 10% of the total number of registered voters in Pampanga as of 20 April 2007, the Philippine general election, 2007. This is based on the records of COMELEC (www.comelec.gov.ph), as required by Section 74, RA 7160, and COMELEC Resolution 7505 , in relation to ARTICLE X, Sec. 3 and Section 74 of R.A. 7160, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE[1], as amended by Section 1, RA 9244.[2] Panlilio is the first Pampanga governor which was subject of the recall campaign.^[24][25]

On October 15, 2008, a formal recall petition against Panlilio for loss of confidence was filed with the Commission on Elections (Philippines). 15,000 "Kambilan" petitioners delivered 168 boxes containing the 224,875 voters' signatures from 20 Pampanga towns and San Fernando City.^[26] In a 32-page petition, Panlilio moved to dismiss the recall petition.^[27][28]

On January 13, 2008, Panilio was named (20 votes, over Chief Justice Reynato Puno, 15 votes), the Philippine Daily Inquirer "Filipino of the Year 2007". Panlilio struggles with the 3 Rs of no-holds-barred Pampanga political resistance: recount (political protest by Pineda), recall (petition) and ‘‘requiem (death threats).”^[29] Meanwhile US based Filipino members of the Global Filipino Nation (GFN) and Fr. Resty Lumanlang, chair of the Save the Pampanga Movement, formed a coalition "to push for the platforms of change and get rid of corruption in the local government."^[30] On February 19, 2008, the Supreme Court issued a status quo ante order stopping the Commission on Elections from recounting the votes in Pampanga pending resolution of a petition for certiorari filed by Gov. Eddie Panlilio.^[31]On March 4, 2008, the Supreme Court resolved to deny Lilia Pineda's motion to lift the February 18 status quo order.^[32]

In 2009, he expressed confidence that the Vatican will allow him to run for the presidency in 2010. He told reporters that it is more likely the Holy See will approve the dispensation from his priesthood if he decides to push with his presidential bid. He has said that he will write a formal letter to church officials in the country. ^[33]

• amonged.com - Fr. Ed Panlilio website
• sacop.org.ph - Social Action Centre of Pampanga (SACOP)