OFWs support beleaguered Pampanga governor

February 13, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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CITY OF SAN FERNANDO - The Global Filipino Nation, which claims to be an organization of some 100 organizations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), has pledged to support Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio who is trying to implement a different approach to ruling a province. The group has labeled the governors policies as the ministry of politics and governance.

Gov. Panlilio, the Catholic priest turned chief executive of Pampanga province, is facing stiff opposition from politicians who resent his policy of reforms.

At least 20 leaders of GFN called on the governor at the provincial capitol here recently and pledged to review, refine and adopt the Panlilio model in which a new credible leader has been put in office. This model is expected to be introduced at an international conference to be held in Manila starting May 8.
The gathering also hopes to identify and mobilize new potential political leaders committed to effective governance,” said Victor Barrios, GFN convenor and chair.

Among (Father) Eds saga sends a message of good governance and the possibilities for changes. We want this replicated all over the country.

Its like St. Paul spreading the Gospel,” Barrios told the Inquirer.
The GFN leaders, department heads at the capitol and civil society leaders in Pampanga held a three-hour meeting with Panlilio to discuss implementing economic, social and political programs.
[Panlilios] good governance runs on the same road as that were trying to tread. We are linking up because we know hes besieged by elements who resist change because of their special interests,” Barrios told the Inquirer.

This came as the governor is being threatened with recall by forces that are opposed to his policies, including those allied with President Arroyo for his exposure of the huge cash bribe given by Malacanang to governors and congressmen last year.

The governor, meanwhile, declared Jan. 18 as provincial day of prayer and fasting. Panlilios proposed P1.115-billion budget for 2008 has been trimmed down by the provincial board who are opposing him to only P935 million.

In a message, Panlilio urged Kapampangans to join the provincial day of prayer and fasting in front of the provincial capitol. Let us be one in sacrifice and supplication, turning on to the Almighty for forgiveness, direction and grace, as we strive to serve the people, Panlilio said in a message distributed by local priests.

Gusto nila matulungan ang Pampanga. Nagsama-sama sila upang maka-isip ng mga paraan para matulungan ang Pampanga (They like to help Pampanga. They bonded together to think of ways to help Pampanga),” Panlilio said after his meeting with the GFN leaders.

Fr. Resty Lumanlang, chairman of the Save the Pampanga Movement, said they have formed a coalition to push for the platforms of change and get rid of corruption in the local government.
Meawnhile, lawyer Romulo Macalintal dismissed as political absurdity the reported moves by former supporters of Panlilio to recall him as governor.

Macalintal, one of four topnotch election lawyers who volunteered their legal services to Panlilio in the May 2007 election, said the reported plans to recall the priest-turned-governor will not prosper because of the electoral protest filed by defeated gubernatorial candidate Lilia Pineda which is still pending with the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Panlilio defeated Pineda, who ran under the banner of the Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi), by 1,147 votes. She eventually filed a protest, claiming anomalies in the gubernatorial poll, prompting the Comelec to conduct a recount of votes in some contested areas in the province.
The recall, according to the law, may be initiated by a preparatory recall assembly or by the registered voters of the local government unit to which the elective official subject to such a recall belongs.
For the recall move against Panlilio to succeed, it should have the signatures of 25 percent of some one million voters in Pampanga.
Apart from Pinedas election protest, Panlilio also has differences with Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao, the provincial board and the Pampanga mayors league over various issues. Guiao and almost all local officials supported Pineda in last years elections.
But some of Panlilios former supporters have become his critics, among them businesswoman Lolita Hizon, who reportedly contributed funds to his campaign.
In an interview with The STAR, Hizon declined to comment on the recall issue but admitted disenchantment with Panlilios choice of officials at the provincial capitol.
She also expressed dismay over the governors alleged threat to charge her son Jomer with a case before the Office of the Ombudsman for quarrying lahar sand from the heavily silted Gugu creek in Bacolor without a permit.
Hizon said her son, being the barangay chairman of Cabetican in Bacolor, was forced to desilt the creek to prevent lahar flows.
Hizon, who was named by the Panlilio administration as the outstanding Kapampangan in the field of entrepreneurship last December, said that while she did not expect anything in return for helping Panlilio during the campaign period, she was taken aback by the threat of a lawsuit against her son.
Hizon recalled that when Panlilios safety was threatened during the campaign period, she provided him with refuge in their family compound here in between his political sorties, while her other son spent his personal funds to beef up Panlilios security personnel.

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