Panlilio’s troubles spread to local Catholic clergy

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Controversies hounding the administration of suspended priest Gov. Eddie Panlilio have spread from the realm of politics to that of the Catholic church.

Local priests belonging to a group they called Prayer Warriors have challenged Panlilio to choose between being governor and being priest.

Fr. Roland Moraleja of the San Fernando archdiocese chancery here, said his group had been against Panlilio’s entry into politics when the latter accepted the plea of local civil society groups to run for governor in last year’s elections.

He said priests who are elected to political posts violate the Canon Law of the Catholic church.

Fr. Jun Mercado, spokesperson of Prayer Warriors, said that Panlilio has remained a priest, although his priestly powers were suspended when he opted to run for governor and won.

Moraleja cited the case of former Bishop Fernando Lugo who stepped down as bishop to assume the presidency of Paraguay on Aug. 15.

Lugo, who won last April’s elections in Paraguay, resigned as a bishop in 2006 when he decided to run for president, saying he felt unable to help the poor as a clergyman.

The Vatican had previously refused to recognize Lugo’s resignation, arguing that he was still a bishop since his ordination was a lifelong sacrament, and demanded that he cease all political activities.

Moraleja, however, noted that the Vatican eventually “lai­cized” Lugo or declared him a layman. Orlando Antonini, the papal nuncio to Paraguay, was quoted as saying that Lugo was the first church official to be “laicized,” but that there had been other priests the Pope had reverted to the status of a layman.

Without a special dispensation from the Pope, priests holding political office risk being excommunicated by the Catholic church, Prayer Warrior members said.

Panlilio himself has repeatedly said he has remained a priest, although his priestly powers remain under suspension.

Members of Prayer Warriors met here the other day with the Kapanalig at Kambilan neng Memalen Pampanga (Kambilan) which intiated the recall petition against Panlilio whom the latter accused of having lost the confidence of the Pampanga electorate.

Kambilan president Rosve Henson said that as of Monday, 30,000 voters volunteered to be members of his group and had signed the petition which needs 100,000 signatures to pave the way for the holding of special gubernatorial polls in this province.

Kambilan’s list showed that apart from Moraleja and Mercado, the other active Pam­panga priests who attended the meeting were Fathers Joel Tubig, Eric de Guzman, Rustom Tanglao, Lyndon Valenton, Mar Miranda, Bong Gopez, Miles Lacanlale, Simeon Pabustan, Alfred David, Roland Lopez, Gabriel Torres, Jun Mercado, Tony Ocampo and Jay Salvador. The only retired priest was Fr. Guido Aliwalas who, at 91, is reportedly the oldest priest in Pampanga.

A source who asked not to be named said that some members of the Prayer Warriors are closely identified with former provincial board member Lilia Pineda whom Panlilio defeated in the gubernatorial polls by 1,147 votes.

One of the priests is said to be a close relative of Pineda’s husband, Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda against whom Panlilio filed charges of plunder before the Office of the Ombudsman earlier this year.

None of the priests, how­ever, signed the recall petition during the meeting, but Henson said he expected 15 of them to eventually sign.

Fr. Restie Lumanlan, president of the Kapampangan Coalition, Inc., said that the controversies affecting Panlilio has indeed already affected the local church, amid reports that other priests have remained supportive of the governor.

While Lumanlan said his group is not supporting the recall petition, it had urged Panlilio way back in May to fire lawyer Vivian Dabu as provincial administrator.

“She had been the problem (of the Panlilio administration) from Day One,” he told The Star in a telephone interview.