Comelec sustains decision unseating Panlilio as gov

(Updated 1 p.m.) The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has upheld the decision unseating Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio in favor of former board member Lilia Pineda. In a 15-page decision, the Comelec en banc said that it found nothing “infirm, anomalous, or erroneous" in a earlier ruling of the poll body second division declaring Pineda as the rightful victor of the 2007 Pampanga gubernatorial race. “We found nothing that would dissuade us from being convinced of accuracy of the claim of the said second division that it ‘meticulously, exhaustively, and judiciously reviewed and passed upon the validity and invalidity of each and every one of the ballots objected to an claimed by the parties, adhering to the basic principle that the cardinal objective of ballot appreciation is to discover ad give effect, rather than frustrate, the intention of the voters," it said. The poll body reached the decision with a 5-1 vote, with only Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento dissenting. Comelec Chairman Jose Melo, on the other hand, did not take part in the deliberation.
Shocked Panlilio In a telephone interview on Unang Balita earlier in the day, Panlilio said they were very surprised by the decision. He also said that one of their lawyers, Sixto Brillantes, has yet to receive a copy of the decision, despite his office being merely five minutes away from Comelec. "Talagang nagulat po kami kagabi nang marinig namin sa media yung mga pahayag ng [kampo] ni Mrs. Lilia Pineda. Sapagkat si Atty. Sixto Brilliantes, one of our lawyers, yung office po niya is only five minutes away from Comelec. I was talking with him ten minutes ago, at sabi niya, wala siyang document, wala siyang kopya na natatanggap hanggang ngayon," said Panlilio. (We were shocked when we heard the news about the Comelec decision. I talked to one of our lawyers just 10 minutes ago, but said he has no copy of the decision yet.) Panlilio said they found it questionable that the Comelec would have time to decide on an eleven-thousand page document especially now that it is facing so many problems regarding the automated elections. He also mentioned the Padaca vs. Dy election case, which had been filed much earlier, yet has not been decided on. Meanwhile, 14 leaders of Panlilio's Kaya Natin! Movement denounced the Comelec's ruling. "We mourn this decree that strips off the democratic power of choice from the people of Pampanga and handed over to the whims of a few powerful people, who, incidentally, are very close allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo," they said in a statement. "We also condemn the timing by which this decision was released which is just a few days before the upcoming elections which up until today is still in limbo due to some glitches in the preparations of the Comelec and Smartmatic," it added, referring to the defective poll automation machines. Pineda lost to Panlilio in 2007 by 1,147 votes and accused the winning priest-turned-politician of cheating and initiated recount proceedings. But last February, the Comelec second division said Pineda got 190,729 votes while Panlilio got 188,718 votes, a margin of 2,011. Commissioner Lucenito Tagle, in his concurring opinion, said that Pineda won by only 356 votes. (See: Panlilio ousted as Pampanga governor; who’s next in line?) To prevent the resolution from being executed, Panlilio filed a motion for reconsideration. Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle, however, said that the poll body still found the recount to be in favor of Pineda. But even though he voted for the upholding of the decision, he said he still issued a separate opinion saying that the votes cast on the ballot saying "Among" should have been counted for Panlilio. "Di ba Among means priest, eh siya lang naman tumatakbong priest (Doesn't among mean priest? He's the only priest who ran for governor in 2007 )," he told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Tagle, in his earlier concurring opinion, said that Pineda won by only 356 votes. Sarmiento had likewise asserted in his dissenting opinion that the said votes should have been counted for Panlilio.— with Sophia Dedace and Carmela Lapeña/LBG, GMANews.TV