CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Gov. Eddie Panlilio said yesterday he will subject himself to “a process” of intense and silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament before deciding whether to accept proposals for him to run for president in 2010.
“But the real score at this point is that I am not running for president. Rather, there are some who want me to run,” Panlilio said in a telephone interview with Punto.
“Some think I have become too ambitious by having presidential ambition amid problems still to be resolved in Pampanga and even threatening to prosecute the President,” he said.
Panlilio said, however, that at present, he is inclined to go back to priesthood after his term ends next year, but added “I am open” to prospects of running for president.
“If I run again for another government post or for reelection, I will ask for dispensation (from superiors in the Catholic church). But even if I did not, they (Church authorities) will suspend my priestly powers,” he said.
Panlilio reiterated that his decision to run for president will rely on signs from God. He said he would discern such signs from two factors, namely, the lack of a “righteous presidential candidate” and the upswell of support of the people for his candidacy.
“It’s just like in the 2007 elections when I opted to run because the perception of the people in Pampanga that they had no alternative between the candidates,” he said. Civil society groups launched Panlilio’s candidacy as a “third alternative to two evils” in the gubernatorial race then.
Panlilio said he will undergo a process of intense and silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament before finally deciding on whether to run for president or not.
He declined to comment on the already known presidentiables, even as he urged the Filipino people not only to find out whether one candidate is “traditional politician”, but also the candidate’s history and the people behind him.
“The support of the people is also one factor. I can’t run without the support of the people because I have no funds,” he said.
This, even as he dismissed allegations by his former supporter businesswoman Lolita Hizon, who owns a food processing business in Pampanga, that he had failed to account for some P1 million of her campaign contributions.
“That’s an old issue. We had formed a committee composed of accountants and lawyers on that, and everything had been ironed out with the Commission on Elections,” he said.
Panlilio advised Hizon to check with Comelec records.
“But the real score at this point is that I am not running for president. Rather, there are some who want me to run,” Panlilio said in a telephone interview with Punto.
“Some think I have become too ambitious by having presidential ambition amid problems still to be resolved in Pampanga and even threatening to prosecute the President,” he said.
Panlilio said, however, that at present, he is inclined to go back to priesthood after his term ends next year, but added “I am open” to prospects of running for president.
“If I run again for another government post or for reelection, I will ask for dispensation (from superiors in the Catholic church). But even if I did not, they (Church authorities) will suspend my priestly powers,” he said.
Panlilio reiterated that his decision to run for president will rely on signs from God. He said he would discern such signs from two factors, namely, the lack of a “righteous presidential candidate” and the upswell of support of the people for his candidacy.
“It’s just like in the 2007 elections when I opted to run because the perception of the people in Pampanga that they had no alternative between the candidates,” he said. Civil society groups launched Panlilio’s candidacy as a “third alternative to two evils” in the gubernatorial race then.
Panlilio said he will undergo a process of intense and silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament before finally deciding on whether to run for president or not.
He declined to comment on the already known presidentiables, even as he urged the Filipino people not only to find out whether one candidate is “traditional politician”, but also the candidate’s history and the people behind him.
“The support of the people is also one factor. I can’t run without the support of the people because I have no funds,” he said.
This, even as he dismissed allegations by his former supporter businesswoman Lolita Hizon, who owns a food processing business in Pampanga, that he had failed to account for some P1 million of her campaign contributions.
“That’s an old issue. We had formed a committee composed of accountants and lawyers on that, and everything had been ironed out with the Commission on Elections,” he said.
Panlilio advised Hizon to check with Comelec records.
