CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The people of Pampanga may not expect the same scenes like the tense situation in neighboring Bulacan.

Although the governors of both provinces – Governors Eddie Panlilio of Pampanga and Joselito Mendoza of Bulacan – have experienced the same fate when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed their respective opponents as rightful winners in the May, 2007 elections, Capampangans are expected to see a quite different scene in the capitol grounds here.

This, after former Senior Board Member Lilia “Baby” Pineda, the Comelec-declared winner, said she and her camp would not resort to force and violence.

“What’s important is that the people finally know who is the rightful winner,” said Pineda, a close ally of President Arroyo.

In an 11,000-page decision, the Comelec Second Division on Thursday proclaimed that Pineda won over Panlilio by 2,011 votes.

The former mayor of Mrs. Arroyo’s hometown of Lubao said that they would not troop to the provincial capitol to force Governor Panlilio to give up his post and allow her to assume office.

Pineda said she would instead wait for the final decision of the Comelec and the Supreme Court.

“We know that this is just the first step and there are a lot of things to be waited for. I will respect the constitutional rights of Among Panlilio (Gov. Panlilio) and we are willing to wait,” Pineda said.

She said that the rule of law should prevail and she does not want the people of the province to use violence.

“I will even talk to my supporters to stay calm and wait for the final decision,” Pineda said. “I hope Among Panlilio would have to understand better because he is a priest.”

The former board member also explained that the decision of the Comelec was not influenced by the Arroyo administration.

“The decision has nothing to do with President Arroyo. This is just a part of a democratic society where everyone has the right to be heard,” Pineda said.

Supporters of Panlilio staged a prayer vigil in front of Pampanga capitol building Thursday night to silently protest what they called an “unfair” decision.

The supporters who were in black shirts covered their mouths with black ribbon, a sign of silent protest.

Panlilio, for his part, said that he expected the decision of the Comelec because even when the recount just started, all their motions and requests were not approved.

“The decision is not a surprise,” the priest-turned-governor said.

The governor said that they would file a motion for reconsideration.

But Pineda’s camp is expected to file a writ of execution to request Panlilio to vacate the office peacefully.

Panlilio won over Pineda in the May 2007 elections by merely 1,147 votes. Pineda later filed an election protest, saying that there was massive cheating during the said polls.

As this developed, Archbishop Emeritus of Lingayen-Dagupan Oscar Cruz said a third party and not Governor Panlilio cheated in the 2007 gubernatorial race in Pampanga.

Cruz issued this statement a day after the Comelec declared Pineda the rightful winner in the Pampanga gubernatorial race in 2007.

“In fairness to Gov. Panlilio, I’m not convinced that he did some cheating. To my knowledge it was somebody else,” Cruz said.

Cruz, however, could not say who the third party is saying he only heard of this also.

“The one who cheated from what I heard, there were some ballot boxes that were thrown away. The ballot boxes contained votes in favor of Pineda,” he said.

“If that was done it was not because the party was in favor of Panlilio. He was just not in favor of Pineda,” added Cruz.

The senior prelate, meantime, is convinced that the Comelec decision would not deter Panlilio from running for the same post in May.

“I don’t think this will derail. I think it will inspire him more. It will give him more fire and energy and more conviction to go after the office,” Cruz said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, Liberal Party (LP) candidate for congressman in Muntinlupa, said he would file a measure that would call for the early resolution of election-related cases to ensure the integrity of the electoral process in the country.

Biazon, in a phone interview said, that while the Comelec has the jurisdiction to proclaim the rightful winner in the 2007 gubernatorial race in Pampanga, the timing of the release of the decision was highly irregular.

“It is within the Comelec’s power to announce who rightfully won in Pampanga. That is within the jurisdiction of the Comelec to tell who between incumbent Gov. Ed Panlilio and Lilia Pineda won. That is part of their function and their authority,” Biazon said.

“But I think there must now be a study of this whole thing, of the actions to be taken on post election protest issues. I feel sorry for the people, and their supporters who voted for them,” Biazon said.

“I will study this to see what legislative measure is appropriate to settle this issue because decisions on post election protest must come in time,” he added.

Biazon also said that aside from the gubernatorial race in Pampanga being contested, the timing of the Comelec’s ruling on the Bulacan gubernatorial race was also questionable.

He lamented there are other cases still unresolved such as the electoral protest of lawyer Aquilino Pimentel III, opposition senatorial candidate, filed against Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri after losing in the 2007 senatorial race. (With reports from Leslie Ann G. Aquino and Hannah L. Torregoza)