BEFORE GOD AND LAW. Gov. Pineda and her son, Vice Gov. Dennis G. Pineda are sworn into office by Supreme Court Associate Justice Perez before the altar of the St. Augustine Parish Church in Lubao town before Sunday noon.
Witnessing the oath-taking rites are Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab, Sta. Rita Mayor Yolanda Pineda and family patriarch Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda.
Photo by Bong Lacson
LUBAO, Pampanga— Historic St. Augustine church here becomes witness to history anew with the first-ever mother-son team at the helm of the province taking their oaths of office here Sunday.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Portugal Perez swore into office Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” G. Pineda and her son Vice Gov. Dennis G. Pineda before the main altar of the church.
Also sworn in – in what Perez said was the largest ever group of public officials he ever had the privilege of administering oath of office to – were the mayors, vice mayors and cpouncilors of 17 of Pampanga’s towns, and the provincial board.
The oath taking was followed by a concelebrated Holy Mass led by Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto who urged the newly elected officials to “serve the poor and the marginalized just like what Pope Francis is doing now by taking his vow of poverty to heart in order to be of better service to the poor.”
Before the final blessing, the newly inducted governor took to the microphone and thanked her husband, businessman Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda, who sat in the front pew with her, for giving his all-out support.
The newly-inducted officials also included the governor’s daughter, Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab and the vice governor’s wife Mayor Yolanda M. Pineda of Sta. Rita.
Gov. Pineda was almost choked with emotion in her speech as she thanked reelected Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo now under hospital arrest for alleged plunder.
In halting words the governor thanked profusely the former president. “Muna kune pu… kaluguran keng kaluguran… anggiang alayu pu keni ing kekatamu pung dating presidenti ngeni congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (I will mention her first…I love her very much… even if she is not here… our former president and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo),” she said.
The governor also enjoined the newly elected officials to forget the bitterness of the past campaign and work for unity in order to serve their constituents better.
“Sana pu pakisabi ku pu kekayu ining panga-lukluk tamung atlung banwa andyang ekayu mikampi-kampi anyang milabasan a eleksyun sana pu bayu ta lumwal keni pisamban nang San Agustin, sana pu pangaku tamu kareng kekatamung kaluguran a pari, keng kekatamung obispu na sana pu kalwal tamu keng pisamban ayni kalingwan tana ngan, kailangan misasang metung tamu para manigobra tamu para kareng kekatang ka probinsya (I am requesting each and everyone of you that in this three years of our term, even if you are not allies during the last elections, I hope you can promise our priests and our Archbishop here that before you leave Saint Augustine Church that you will forget everything (the divisiveness of the past campaign) and be united so that we all can work together for the good of our province),” the governor said.
She said she chose to take her oath with other officials at the St. Augustine church, the oldest in the province, to make the event memorable so that the newly-inducted officials will be reminded of their promise to work together for the common good.
“Pinili kupu na keni kepu mag oath… dening opisyales ning kekatamung probinsya eda akalingwan ing anyadwan ku rarela… ati kepu keni para manigobra ngan (I chose this place as a venue of our oath taking…so that our officials of our province will not forget my plea to serve the people well),” she said.
First Distrcit Rep. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao arrived just in time to hear the governor speak.
