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‘Panlilio not a threat to administration’


MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is unperturbed with Pampanga governor Eddie Panlilio’s intention to run for president in next year’s national elections, saying the priest-turned-politician has a lot to answer about before he becomes a “serious candidate." “Governor Panlilio's running for president is hardly of any consequence to the administration. We don’t believe he poses any threat," said Gabriel Claudio, the political adviser of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He however said that Panlilio must first overcome the “hurdles" to his plan like the reported disapproval of his superiors in the clergy. “How can he become a serious candidate when Church leaders themselves question the propriety of his plans under Canon Law," Claudio said. Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso, an expert in Canon Law, said Panlilio should give up priesthood if he is intent on pushing through with his plan to run for president. “Dapat na siyang magbitiw sa pagka-pari bago siya mag-file ng kanyang certificate of candidacy [He should resign from priesthood before he files his certificate of candidacy]," Medroso said. Medroso is the chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Cannon Law of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). He said the Church law specifically prohibits priests from seeking position in the government. Panlilio had formally offered himself as a presidential candidate in the 2010 elections during Saturday’s launching of Kilos Na! Movement, a political group that supports his candidacy. He has been a very vocal critic of the Arroyo administration. Claudio, in dismissing Panlilio, said the governor’s political intention may even work as an advantage to the administration, which is yet to pick its standard-bearer for the upcoming elections. “A preponderance of presidential bets outside the administration is to our advantage," he said. - GMANews.TV
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