Sunday, August 24, 2008 Panlilio cries foul over protestors' remarks By Jovi T. De Leon
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Governor Eddie Panlilio has finally cried foul over some actions and remarks of protesting Biyaya A Luluguran at Sisikapan (Balas) Boys at Arnedo Park.
"Look, it is only 4:30 in the afternoon and their sound system is up loud and blaring. They should have considerations to the Capitol workers. Employees here start working as early as 7:00 in the morning until about 5:30 in the afternoon, and sometimes the noise disrupts work," Panililio said last Friday, referring to some taunting comments he just heard while overseeing the unloading of medical donations from the United States-based World Medical Relief, Inc.
The governor added that he has already asked Mayor Oscar Rodriguez and City Administrator Fer Caylao to look into the matter and possibly "regulate" the actions of the protesting Balas Boys who are on their 14th day of an otherwise peaceful demonstration.
The protesters, for their part, vowed to tone down their public address system and regulate the occasional speeches they make.
Before this drew the governor's attention, their "broadcasts" directed towards the Capitol was done only before 7 a.m., during lunchtime, and as Capitol employees were calling the day off.
Asked if the protesters would be dispersed because of this, Panlilio said: "No. We are not like that. It is their right to express in public their grievances. I just hope they regulate their expression."
On the matter of the recall move initiated by the group known as Kambilan, Panlilio said, "It is not advisable yet to make a statement since the recall has not yet been filed."
"It is their constitutional right to do so but we have to follow the law and its processes," he said, adding that the law calls for the withdrawal first of the recount filed by an opposition before recall move could prosper.
Panlilio said he was not surprised by the recall move initiated against him, admitting that he had known and waited for it for a long time now.
The governor also asked civil society groups and his critics to let him work for now and finish his term.
"I still have 22 months to serve our people. And if you look back at the past 13 months, my performance was good. I did not steal a single centavo from the government's coffers nor did I receive something from jueteng," he said, adding that "I wholeheartedly ask you to respect what I have decided upon, because after listening to you and the voices of other people, let me decide because I am the governor."
