PerryScope
Perry Diaz
The victory of Fr. Eduardo "Among Ed" Tongol Panlilio over two powerful political Goliaths in Pampanga last year demonstrated once again that "people power" would prevail when all other means would fail. But unlike the "people power" that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986 and deposed Joseph Estrada in 2001, the "people power" in Pampanga was different -- it was done through the ballot.
"Among Ed," as he was affectionately called by his followers, brought down his two rivals who have close ties to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. One was 29-year-old Mark Lapid -- the incumbent governor at that time and son of former governor and now Sen. Lito Lapid -- who was referred to in some quarters as the "quarry-tax-theft king" for alleged corruption in the "lahar" quarry operations. The other was provincial board member and former Lubao Mayor Lilia Pineda -- Arroyo's town mate and "kumadre." Pineda was referred to as the "Jueteng Queen" because of her marriage to Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda, the alleged king of "jueteng" -- an illegal numbers game -- in at least nine provinces in Central Luzon. With formidable foes like Lapid and Pineda, Among Ed was never given a chance to beat Lapid and Pineda, both of whom were backed by well-oiled political machines and huge campaign war chests. But Among Ed did the impossible. Some people believed that his victory was a miracle.
Soon after he was sworn in as governor, Among Ed faced an uphill battle. Vice Governor Joseller Guiao -- as de facto head of the 10-member provincial board -- has taken an adversarial role against Among Ed. On September 21, 2007, the provincial board unanimously approved Ordinance 176 -- a measure filed by the Pampanga Mayors' League -- which would transfer the authority to monitor the extraction and payment of quarry fees from the provincial government to the mayors of the seven "lahar" quarry towns in Pampanga. When the ordinance reached Among Ed's desk on October 9, he vetoed it claiming that it violated the 1991 Local Government Code which clearly assigns management of the quarry operations to the provincial government. However, on October 15, the provincial board, by unanimous vote, passed a resolution overriding Among Ed's veto. Last November 22, Among Ed asked the Department of Justice to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Ordinance 176 claiming that it was "unconstitutional and illegal." Meanwhile, to avoid being accused of dereliction of duty and be subjected to administrative proceedings -- and possibly removal from office -- Among Ed issued an executive order to implement Ordinance 176.
It is interesting to note that in less than five months, from June 29 to November 21, 2007, Among Ed collected P97.41 million which was more than the P78.15 million collected from 2004 through 2006 by his predecessors. Assuming that the quarry production remained the same since 2004, where did P623.20 million go, or, to be more precise, whose pockets did it go to?
While Among Ed is faced with mounting opposition in his attempt to stop corruption in the quarry industry, his crusade against jueteng is turning out to be a "mission impossible." With the alleged "jueteng king" -- reputed to be the biggest and richest of the country's 16 known jueteng lords -- running his jueteng empire right in President Arroyo's "backyard" in Lubao, Pampanga, Among Ed cannot stop jueteng all by himself. He made a campaign promise to stop jueteng in six months. Five months have already passed. Unless a miracle happens again, jueteng would continue to thrive in Pampanga.
Clearly, Arroyo has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to what has been happening in her home province. In less than seven years that she has been President, Pampanga has become one of the most -- if not the most -- corrupt provinces in the country. Indeed, Pampanga is now the country's jueteng capital where "jueteng power" controls the body politic of the province and, to a large degree, the country.
It is estimated that the jueteng industry is raking in at least P40 billion a year in collections. A third of the collections would go to politicians and government officials, and the police; thus, ensuring the "protection" needed to keep the jueteng operations insulated and uninterrupted.
Now, let's play a different kind of numbers game. The Bible says that 777 symbolizes Yahweh (God) and 666 is the mark of the Beast (Antichrist). "Eduardo" consists of seven letters and his middle name "Tongol" and surname "Panlilio" together have 14 letters which would give two 7's. Thus, "Eduardo Tongol Panlilio" would be 777. And who is 666? The conjugal dictators Ferdie and Imelda Marcos would be the first 666 and Gloria and Miguel Arroyo would be the second 666. Intriguing, isn't it?
Last October 11, 2007, at a meeting in Malacanang hosted by Arroyo, Among Ed received a brown bag containing P500,000 from another governor without any note or explanation. Allegedly, it came from an Arroyo aide. At another meeting attended by 190 congressmen on the same day in Malacanang, several congressmen said that they also received brown bags containing money. Two days later, Among Ed exposed the alleged "bribery" in a press conference. It was revealed later that seven other governors received similar brown bags from Malacanang aides.
A month later, all 21 members of the Pampanga Mayors League did not show up at a meeting of the Provincial Development Council convened by Among Ed. Was it a coincidence? Or was it a part of a concerted effort to neutralize Among Ed and strip him of his authority?
With the Vice Governor, the entire provincial board, all the mayors, the jueteng king and queen massed against him, Among Ed has his back to a precipice. Is he going to fight back and try to regain control of the province that he was elected to govern? Other than capitulation, that may be his only option. Should he do so, he should once again seek divine guidance to bring about another "people power" to combat the formidable forces of "jueteng power." Yes, it's going to be "people power" versus "jueteng power," good against evil, and 777 against 666. Indeed, a titanic battle is about to loom in the horizon.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)