Canon lawyer Ed Peters posted a comment regarding Pampanga Governor and suspended-priest Ed Panlilio's decision to run for the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines.
American Papist Tom Peters posted the video commentary of his father. My comments and emphasis.
The article below is from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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MANILA, Philippines – Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio announced on Tuesday his intention to run for president in 2010 and leave priesthood.
Panlilio, who became the first Filipino priest to sit in public office when he was elected governor in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's home province in 2007, said he believed running for president was God's calling.
“When I decided to offer myself [as candidate] I felt at peace. I'm doing this not for me, not for myself. I felt God wanted me to go on a higher service,” [And the presidency is a higher he said.
“I have said time and again I have no political agenda. There have been groups telling me to run for the presidency and thought I would pray again. After a period of discernment I said, yeah God is calling me to run for the presidency,” [Oh brother.] he continued.
Panlilio said he was not expecting the Catholic Church leadership to campaign for him since the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines never endorsed and would not endorse candidates. [It is not onky against Church law but against the Constitution. BUT!!! The Iglesia ni Cristo, the pseudo-Christian, more Mormon-like group, openly commands, not recommends, but advises its members who to vote for or else risk sanctions or expulsion. BUT!!! the Philippine-media accuses the Catholic Church of playing partisan politics! WHAT?!?!]
He said he would formally request for dispensation from the Church “anytime between next month and November.”
But he reiterated his previous statement that he would want to be reinstated to the priesthood should he lose in the elections.
“If they would accept me back, yes. But the thing is, that could come later. What's important is, this priesthood that I love so much I'm willing to give up for a greater love and that is love for the country. For me the heart of priesthood is accepting the love of God in working for other people especially the poor,” he said [The heart of the priesthood is the Sacraments! Good grief! You can work for the poor even without ordination! A priest can do what a king, president, Nobel laureate, hey maybe even an Academy Award winner, but none of them can do what a priest does, turn bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ! And he considers the presidency a higher calling?! Good Lord! Pray for the governor. Pray for all priests that they resist all types of temptations. Power and prestige are one of the temptations the devil presented to Jesus.]
If elected, Panlilio said his government's main thrusts would be to address people's livelihood, malnutrition, corruption, food sufficiency, and insurgency.
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In fairness though, the governor did a lot to stop corruption in a province dubbed the "Vatican of gambling and corruption". You can read his profile and some of his accomplishments and the harassment he had been receiving from those affected by his reforms here.
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