CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- An official said the Kampampangans could handle their own issues regarding the ballots recount for the 2007 gubernatorial seat, thus the intervention of people outside Pampanga is unnecessary.
Vice Governor Joseller Guiao said Governor Eddie Panlilio's supporters from La Salle-Ateneo at Marami Pa Coalition have “no moral authority to tell Kapampangans how to act regarding the results of the recount case filed by former provincial board member Lilia Pineda [against the priest-turned-governor].”
In an interview with Sun.Star Pampanga, Guiao said Panlilio's supporters from Manila should leave the local issue with the Kapampangans.
He added that Panlilio seems to be displaying a show of support from outside the province when support from his own province “is failing.”
La Salle-Ateneo at Marami Pa Coalition led by Patrick Pantaleon earlier accused Malacañang of “fast-tracking” the recount case. The group also pleaded to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Pineda to allow Panlilio to finish his term.
Pantaleon said his coalition, composed of about 200 other groups with hundreds of members, will focus on the current political issues in the province more than in other areas.
Guiao, however, said the group is “only making political noise.”
He said instead of making allegations without proof, Pantaleon’s group should instead advise Panlilio and his supporters to observe the rule of law and allow the resolution of the case through legal means.
In the February 11 promulgation of the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) Second Division, it declared Pineda as the rightful winner in the 2007 gubernatorial race with 2,011 votes lead over Panlilio.
Guiao said Pantaleon’s group should also immerse itself in Pampanga politics under the Panlilio administration to understand why the governor has been losing support in the local level and why the recount results have been received “lukewarmly” by many sectors in the province.
“It is unfair that the President is being dragged in an issue in which she has no direct participation. They may be well meaning but Pampanga politics is not a simple matter," he said.