October 25, 2010. Sydney, Australia. In a well-organized media conference held in the Rouse Hill home of Marivic Manalo, Former Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio said: “There was no way for me to stop jueteng … because there seems to be a conspiracy between the leadership of the Philippine National Police and the jueteng operators in Pampanga,”
‘Jueteng’ is an illegal numbers game that is prevalent in many parts of the Philippines. The game relies heavily on having a large number of wagers, and there is no limit to the amount of the bets. Usually the gambler selects two numbers from 1 through 37, and the winning number is determined by selecting a pair of numbers from two sets of 37 numbered balls. (www.wikipedia.org)
During the interview, it came out that Bong Pineda who is believed to be Pampanga’s jueteng lord, is the husband of incumbent Governor Lilia Pineda. “Thus, the Pinedas had all the resources when I ran for re-election, and of course I lost,” said Panlilio
“Before that, it was a 3-way fight among Lapid, Pineda and myself when I won the gubernatorial seat in Pampanga,” the former priest added. ‘Among Ed’, as he is fondly called by both his parishioners and constituents, said that he had practically nothing when he ran as governor of Pampanga. When asked why he lost during his bid for re-election, he simply said that he had no campaign funds versus the unlimited resources of a jueteng lord.
He served a full term of 3 years as governor of Pampanga. During his term, he was able to deliver to the provincial treasury more than P380 million from quarry operations. The money represents a drastic 800 per cent increase from the collections of his predecessors, implying that the difference went to somebody else’s pocket and not to the residents of Pampanga.
At the moment, Fr. Ed Panlilio is still waiting for the Vatican in Rome to restore him to priesthood. “The decision to reinstate me should happen anytime soon,” he said. Meanwhile, he cannot celebrate mass or perform any priestly function. He is nevertheless addressed by many Sydneysiders as ‘Fr. Ed.’
He was special guest speaker during the 20th anniversary celebrations of Aguman Kapampangan held at Blacktown RSL on October 30. – ?