Recall petition vs Panlilio filed today

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Boasting of some 220,000 signatures from voters in the province, the Kapanalig at Kambilan neng Memalen Pampanga (Kambilan) will file this morning its recall petition against Gov. Eddie Panlilio.

Kambilan president Rosve Henson told The STAR that he expects hundreds of supporters, including members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board), to join the march from Arnedo Park in front of the provincial capitol here to the Commission on Elections’ provincial office about a kilometer away for the filing of the recall petition.

Henson said a Mass at the park will precede the march.

He said the recall petition, which cited loss of confidence in Panlilio’s leadership, will be contained in 141 boxes, as 12 sets of signatures of some 220,000 voters are attached to the main document.

A truck will transport the boxes, escorted on foot by Kambilan officers and their supporters, he said.

The law prescribes that 10 percent of some one million registered voters of Pampanga are needed for the recall petition, which, if the Comelec validates, could lead to a special gubernatorial election.

Henson, who admitted being an “avid campaigner” of former provincial board member Lilia Pineda who lost to Panlilio in last year’s polls, said most of the signatories hail from Pineda’s hometown, Lubao, whose mayor is her son, Dennis, president of the Pampanga Mayors’ League.

Mrs. Pineda lost to Panlilio by 1,147 votes and has a pending electoral protest against the priest-turned-governor.

“Aside from Lubao, majority of the signatories are voters from Floridablanca, Mexico, and Arayat,” Henson said.

While Kambilan members were able to gather as many as 240,000 signatures, Henson said they removed “questionable” ones, so the number has dwindled to 220,000.

“Kambilan will continue to exist. The legal battle on the recall issue has just started,” Henson said.

He expressed hope that the Comelec would be able to call for a special gubernatorial election this December or January next year.

Comelec officials earlier said the poll body does not have enough funds for the holding of such special elections, which in Pampanga’s case would require some P24 million.

Under the law, Panlilio would automatically be a candidate in the special poll.

Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao earlier said he would run against Panlilio but only if all of the governor’s critics would support his candidacy.

The Comelec provincial supervisor earlier said that once his office is able to validate the petition and its signatures, he would endorse the petition to the Comelec en banc, which would again examine it before scheduling any special election.