Kampi mayor to Gov Ed: Why did you take the money?

Why did you take the money? On this note, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's local government allies in Pampanga hurled this question Monday at Gov. Eddie Panlilio after the latter admitted receiving P500,000 in Malacañang last week. "Di ko sinasabing totoo o hindi. Sinasabi ko lang kung cash sana di niya kinuha. Bawal sa isang mayor o gobernador tumanggap ng cash (I don't want to judge him but what I'm saying is that if it's cash, he should not have accepted it. A mayor or governor is barred from accepting cash)," Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, a family friend of President Arroyo, said in an interview on dzRH radio. Pelayo said Panlilio should not have received the money in the first place because it is the treasurer who receives the money during "official transactions." "Dapat provincial treasurer ang tumanggap, at may resibo na payable sa munisipyo ... Kung illegal dapat di binitbit (The provincial treasurer should be the one to accept the money, and issue a receipt payable to the town. But if the money were given illegally, Panlilio should not have accepted it at all)," he said. Pelayo said the mayors's league in Pampanga, Mrs Arroyo's home province, was to meet Monday afternoon to discuss the matter of the money supposedly given to Panlilio. He claimed that after an official of Mrs Arroyo's Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) was linked to a bribe try to sign a impeachment bid against the President, Kampi members smell a political plot. "We want to get to the bottom of this. Rep. Crispin Beltran of Anakpawis linked Kampi's Francis Ver to a bribery attempt. Why would Kampi approach someone from a party list? We want to see what's behind this. The 2010 elections are not that far off and many people are trying to look good this early," Pelayo said in Filipino. Last weekend, Panlilio confirmed receiving P500,000 cash from a Palace functionary after a meeting of governors in Malacañang Thursday last week. He said he accepted the cash because the functionary was insistent, and he felt it would benefit local projects in his province. Panlilio's revelation prompted opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson to call for a probe into the supposed bribery. Lacson said that if the money were from Mrs Arroyo's personal fund, she should account for it in her income tax returns and statements of assets and liabilities and net worth. If it is public money, Lacson said Malacañang should come out with an accounting and present the proper vouchers. On the other hand, Lacson said Panlilio should brace himself for a possible demolition job by Mrs Arroyo's allies seeking to discredit him. - GMANews.TV