“He is drifting from his original priestly mission. A priest is a servant of the city of God, not of the city of man,” said Aniceto, Panlilio’s immediate superior who strongly objected when Panlilio, a priest for 29 years, ran for governor in 2007.” -from Priest-turned governor angers prelates; Superiors reject Fr Ed’s plan to run for president
By Dona Pazzibugan, Tonette Orejas, Philippine Daily Inquirer
“Good” is as subjective as beauty. So forgive me for admitting my mistake: we don’t need “good” men and women in public office. We need serious people people with passion intent on solving real problems. We need deep thinkers, strategists and tacticians intent on solving the puzzle of the Philippines. If Ed Panlilio believes this is his calling, if he should use the gift of discernment from the Holy Spirit to do the job of the President of the Philippines, who is anyone of us to say otherwise?
If it takes someone from a priestly background to defend life, why not? If it takes a man from a priestly background to bind up our nation’s wounds, to care for him who has fought our battles for us, for all the widows and orphans this nation has made over the years, I ask you: why not?
Perhaps a nation state is like a symphony. We each play a different instrument. Every sound we make adds to the grandeur of Great Piece we are playing. We need all kinds of people from different backgrounds, from different expertise to play our Philippine symphony. We need a conductor to properly direct our performance.
Then there is this: Filipinos have an abundance of hope. This is hope that comes from being a nation that is deeply religious. “We say tomorrow is a better day”. More than hope, we need the willpower to use that hope to shine our light.
I’m not saying, Ed Panlilio is The One. I welcome him to enter the ring and giving it a go. And just maybe, he can be the rallying point for hope and to focus our collective will. Maybe he can get people, serious and with passion intent on solving real problems. Maybe he can gather deep thinkers, strategists and tacticians together. Maybe he can be the one to direct our symphony. Sure as the sun sets and rises that’s what this nation needs.
*image is from this wikipedia page, released in the public domain.
Tags: 2010 elections, among ed, ed panlilio, leadership
At FV, “all men are created equal” – or so I thought.
Nice damning endorsement.
What can one expect from Panlilio with regards LGBT?
The population conundrum? Women being equal? Atheists and spaghetti-believers in government service?
Taxation on church income from their bank-account interests, rental income, school tuition profits?
Ah yes, just like your endorsements of BF here on FV. ;)
we may both agree to welcome him into the ring, but to suggest that he has some Holy Spirit in his side is plain stupidity.
My DLSU/LSGH education is showing in this post. hehe.
What kind of education teaches Holy Spirit is true?
Ahhhh, it will be THAT stupidity (by Pinoys believing a priest has a direct line to the heavens) that may just get him elected.
By the way, if no one has said it yet, then it is time to start the rumor that ever since Panlilio has become governor, the number of natural disasters to hit Pampanga has dropped by 23.522%. Over twenty-three percent, would you believe that???!!! [Okay, would you believe 7%????]
He seems to be open-minded with regards to Reproductive Health. I’m hoping he would shed his priest’s collar when dealing with other issues sensitive to the Church if he gets elected.
Are you referring to St. Augustine’s City of God?
From where I stand, Fr. Panlilio is ill-equipped to run RP. And even if we get the head of the CBCP himself to agree to run for president, again, the same will be the case.
Priests are not known to run governments. Some priests though run on the streets.
There is the spiritual, the moral, the political, and the practical. Mr. Panlilio stepped away from the spiritual (he can think for himself, one of God’s greater gifts to man), presumably adheres to one plank of morality with which I disagree (unfettered birthing), eschews political corruptsmanship (waves his bag of cash to flaunt Ms. Arroyo’s style), and is both practical (“thar’s gold in thet thar Pinatubo sand”) and impractical (administers from his cloistered desk and fights via the media with his flock of gambling czar mayors).
I like the guy, myself. I need to be convinced he can manage the executive branch as a productive business. I think he is the only candidate who can lay claim to being uncorrupted by the system. If there are any others, I’d certainly like to know who they might be.
Joe
me too.
please let him run..
promise, this will be a defining moment in Philippine history, much like how the Civil War was in the US, with less blood of course..
Panlilio may do an Aristide, also a Roman Catholic priest. Aristide (his campaign slogan was something about “… Jesus would not allow the poverty among the citizens of Haiti — vote Aristide!”) became Haiti-president. Aristide was overthrown by a military-coup. Aristide blamed US-of-A. Aristide married and had two or three children by his American-citizen girlfriend.
The Philippines may do a Haiti.
It’s not an exaggeration when they say vanity, not little choir boys, are the clergy’s greatest temptation.
I agree with Liam, a priest should run simply for the statement he will make, but sana a bishop. A priest to many people is a normal human being, little better than a kumpare in a skirt. He’s not an authority per se.
Panlilio surely before wearing his priestly robe were given time to decide on his own will to accept or not accept this godly vocation and fully understand upon ordination is priesthood is simply irreversible. He is drifting from his original priestly mission. A priest is a servant of the city of God, not of the city of man. Now why change of heart, are you a failure as a priest or leaving cause you were made paranoid for power by those back pushers. This is a bad sign that your decision making is not clear and are based on ear whispers. The bill for a strong leader doesn’t fit you.
Father Panlilio should clean up the image of the priest-politician which those Latino priests and bishops who have become prez have sullied. So I would welcome him to run for the presidency. First of all, I presume he still sticks to 1) celibacy, and 2) poverty vows. Also I don’t believe that he has a biological children just spiritual ones. Since he is technically on-leave from the ministry, he still is bound by celibacy vows (unless he is an Eastern Catholic priest which he obviously isn’t).
This I gotta see. I want to see a celibate male president (We have had a celibate president before! I presume Mrs Aquino was celibate during her term). This should help us exorcise on of the evils of the Erap presidency where having many sexual partners was a qualification for the Malacanang bedroom!
jhay,
You better ask cocoy straight to his face if he is NOT ENDORSING Fr. Panlilio, will you?
If I did write about BF here at FV, you all missed the point what I am apt to.
In all your negative attacks on the messenger, I got all I need to know. At the very least, it was not ‘knitted’ the way cocoy knitted it straight.
I sense that his wish to run for president is just ‘testing the waters’.
It is ‘plastic’ of him to be already saying everything he is saying. Most definitely, I will not vote for this priest. I would have expected him to be humble at every turn.
Signs indicate to me, he reflects the attributes of the ‘old traditional politician’ that he seeks to get rid of.
agree. he has been exhibiting such good skills in handling the media to create this “sanctified” image of himself but his actual community seem to indicate otherwise.
The ‘dynasty’ question is one of the things going for Panlilio to differentiate him from Bayani Fernando and other Pinoy politicians who “transfer” a previously-held mayor- or governor-position to their spouses or children. Also a gift for languages (including Latin!) and memorization-skills and attention to detail.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090720-216285/Daughter-of-drug-agent-seized-raped
We are not in favor of religious people entering politics, and
becoming politicians. We dont need Theocracy in our country. We
are a nation of different religious beliefs. Fr. Ed Panlileo
would be better off serving the religious needs of his congregation.
He does not belong to the political arena. Philippine Politics have many kinds of bad characters cut throat people. They will do anything to get into power and to stay in power.
Iran is a Theocracy. You can see the problems and leaders coming out
of Iran. We have been part Theocracy during Spanish Colonial times.
You can read of the abuses of the Spanish Friars and the Catholic Church. They can be read in the novelof Jose Rizal, “Noli Me Tangere”…
So far, what I am getting from the not-really-serious presidential aspirant are empty rhetorics.
He is not much of a governor, either. President? Come on, stop this talk.
well, let’s give him the chance. after all, he has the qualifications defined by the constitution.
but then before trying to solve the Philippine problems’ puzzles, he has to solve the problem of how he will win in the elections.
can his 2007 magic still operate next year?
yes let’s give him a chance.
some of us are pushing the likes of jun lozada, a confessed grafter, as well as known traditional politicians to run so why not panlilio?
however, i do think panlilio should look deep within himself to see if he has the survival skills needed to keep himself in power should he win. considering all this talk of power hungry military men and/or politicians with strong links to the military, i’m inclined to think that he could become an easy target. if he realizes that he may not be equipped to deal with such possibilities then, perhaps, it would be best for him to stand down.
I am automatically skeptical of people who claim to be chosen by god to run for president. Politicians pandering to religion is a sign of trouble, hat more when this politician is a priest?
He may have the qualifications defined by the constitution, but those are appalling standards by any measure.
A better question would be “is he qualified to run a country?”. I see nothing much in his resume that indicates he is.
Besides, I doubt he can keep his religion away from politics. He will most definitely be influenced by the Church, an institution that in no way should be meddling in government affairs.
John,
What is the difference between a person who runs because he feels he was “chosen by God”, and a person who runs because he has a big ego? Seem the same to me.
The question is what do they do once they are in office, and if a Priest can break the strong vise of corruption that is the way business is conducted in the Philippines, he is a very valuable MAN indeed.
The constitution already separates church from state, but the current government is inclined not to pay much attention to the constitution.
A priest with good values is far from appalling to me, and I belong to no church.
Joe
Platform, please.
If he has none to present, then he’s just another trapo because his pitch is quite traditional; i.e., appealing to Pinoys’ vacuous low-thinking-applied sensibilities.
It’s simple, really™.
Hit nail on the head, benigno. Maybe say some more.
and yes as benigno said he should present a platform as all aspirants should. but then again, panlilio and all the other politicians yeing the post are holding out and will likely continue to do so until after they have filed their certificates of candidacy. umiiwas muna ata para di magkagayahan ng plataporma.
I think it’s relevant to recall what the Jesuit priest and 5-term U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, Rev. Fr. Robert Frederick Drinan, said when Pope John Paul II in 1980 ordered him to either forego re-election or leave the priesthood.
“With ‘regret and pain,’ Father Drinan announced he would not seek re-election.
“’It is just unthinkable,’ he said of the idea of renouncing the priesthood to stay in office. ‘I am proud and honored to be a priest and a Jesuit. As a person of faith, I must believe that there is work for me to do which somehow will be more important than the work I am required to leave.’”
ameen! last 2004 it was villanueva a pastor,why not a priest? an imam perhap!in the past past we elected lawyers as president, a mechanic, a widow who studies french, a soldier, an actor womanizer, an economist who has a husband named mike, there s no harm is looking for a leader who might led us to the manna from heAVEN!
The variety of the responses we see here is one of the things we can resolve in a Panlilio campaign for the Presidency. If ever his candidacy pushes through, we can somehow determine whether we Filipinos believe that the Church should have an expanded role in the country’s state of affairs.
We see nuns taking a more active role with the case of Jun Lozada. Priests protecting Sammie Ong. Etc.
As of now, the boundaries are not yet clearly defined. Since the era of Cardinal Sin, the religious have criss-crossed along traditional boundaries. I don’t know where the boundaries are anymore.
In the case of platforms, as benign0 emphasized, Panlilio may be of the alternative type, whose focus will dwell largely on anti-corruption. There isn’t much to see about his views on the economy, governance or politics, rather, I believe credibility is his main platform.
Liam,
My impression is that Mr. Panlilio is a tad disorganized, but does manage to get a few good things done. The call for “platform” is correct. But I think, also, the fact that he is not stained sets him apart from all the rest. He does not run Pampanga as a religious outclave, and I don’t think he would run the Philippines as an arm of the Church (any more than it already is). He needs a strong Chief of Staff, or “business manager” of the affairs of government.
Also, it is possible he would not have much support from the Legislature, so it could be an ineffectual bickering mess.
Still, I’ve only been here a few years, but am weary of the entrenched elite, and the relentless mismanagement of affairs that people here point to. Tired of the “families” . . .
Joe
is he still a priest? technically?
this shouldn’t be allowed i think…
he’s on leave, as i understand it. i think that’s one of the reasons why they don’t want him to run. they don’t like the idea of “losing” priests.
no, cocoy, i mean theoretically, the reason ought to be that priests’ vocation is to be a priest.
this is an important reason (not the only 1) why priests shouldnt be married.
so i don’t understand how priests can be given ‘leave’ to do this work. i need to figure it out….
interestingly, i am beginning to wonder what priests can and cannot do… (or should/shouldn’t do)
there is a priest who is the board president of his electricity cooperative:
http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/5720
so, what is the fundamental difference between this and any other elected official?
more questions: can a priest do other jobs, while leading a parish?
why can’t a priest get married?
i’m curious, and i want to talk to a filipino priest who knows cannon law…
At least the people of Pampanga already gave Panlilio the chance to prove his worth and mettle to run the affairs of an entire province.
If, in a scale of 1 to 10, he gets 9, the endorsement is in order. But if it falls below the bar, forget the priest.
With Panlilio sort of revered, all the rest become ‘demonized’ as though the rest of the pack are all men of evil motive.
These are the excesses of too much religion it became part of some stereotypical attitude.
I know what empty rhetorics is when I hear one.
rhetoric didn’t stop people from voting for erap – it actually made people vote for erap
Erap is – culture bound – to win the presidency.
It’s as simple as that.
Ask Eddie Garcia to run, and we can check this cultural boundability, so called to test.
Oh, why the size of the picture showing the good priest virtually covering the whole of my computer screen? I must have find this rather cheap.
do you think that fr. ed panlilio would be the right one for the philippines to have so callled “change”.
im not against with fr.ed panlilio,rather not to believe him…i don’t think he’s not worthy for us the philippines…
in my own perspectives, state would be the state, religion could be in the state as a society but religion could take place when the state is not worthy of having the right moral values that we needing for us to build as a nation….
religion is for us to guide as of we have to believe God, how we will get through tough challlenges as we know how to pray…..and believe in him as of we have to believe in ourselves….
state has the sovereignity to stand up the tough changes in the country
and how will religion and state will come up as one as of there are things in different but one common purpose the people…..
fr.ed panlilio better think of this…
if ever he will be the president how will he give the spiritual mode for the people if he’s busy with the common challenges of the philippines….
if ever he would be the president,does he know about the present and current common problems of the philippines…is he capable of resolving these problems with the help of the constitutional laws…
he would take longer of studying matters in the constitutional aside of having an ideas in spiritual…
i mean that he will study and then will be slowly development of the philippines….
a repetition a tireless repetition…..of the government, back to zero….