Panlilio camp pessimistic over recount case

Even the lead counsel of Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio is not confident that they will win their election case against former provincial board member Lilia Pineda. "Pare-pereho tayong nanghuhula, pero tingin ko talo kami (We are all guessing, but I think we will lose)," said lawyer Sixto Brillantes. Pineda, a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, filed an electoral protest against Panlilio whom she accused of cheating in the 2007 elections. Panlilio, a priest-turned-politician and a critic of the Arroyo government, won over Pineda by a slim margin of 1,147 votes. The Commission on Elections' (Comelec) Second Division is set to announce its decision on the Panlilio-Pineda recount case on Thursday, January 7. Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, who heads the Second Division, said the decision would be a "surprising" one. Precedents But Brillantes said the division is likely to rule against Panlilio, citing the cases of other Liberal Party governors Jonjon Mendoza (Bulacan) and Grace Padaca (Isabela) as precedents. Panlilio is also a member of LP, which is fielding Sen. Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III as its standard bearer in the May elections. The LP had earlier slammed the Arroyo administration for its alleged "vendetta politics" against the three governors. The poll body has denied the accusation. “They are forgetting the fact that the resolution of the Second Division is not final. It’s appealable," he said. Both Mendoza and Padaca had filed their respective motions for reconsideration, which are now pending with the Comelec en banc.- KBK, GMANews.TV