God called me to run for president --Panlilio

MANILA, Philippines -- Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio said God has called him to run in the 2010 presidential race.

Panlilio, a suspended priest, said he has been praying for guidance and "felt" that God wants him to go for the presidency.

"Noong nagpasya po ako na i-offer ang aking sarili, 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...After a period of discernment, I said 'God is calling to run for the presidency'," Panlilio said during a forum in Manila today.

Panlilio said he will definitely file his certificate of candidacy (COC) on or before Nov. 30, the deadline for the filing of COC set by the Commission on Elections.

"I'm ready for all the consequences, including dispensation from priesthood," the Pampanga governor said.

Panlilio believes that the so-called civil society and Catholic bishops will support a candidate with moral values, a good platform of government, and "someone who is competent and who surrounds himself with good people."

He, however, stressed that he does not expect the bishops or the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines to support his candidacy.

"I don't expect the Catholic bishops to campaign for me because they will not do that," Panlilio said.

The CBCP hierarchy has earlier opposed any of its members or clerics to go into politics as it violates the laws of the Catholic Church.

Panlilio reiterated that he is willing to go back to priesthood if he loses the presidential race.

Once elected as president, Panlilio said his administration would focus on the areas of livelihood, health, food security, and would address the problem of insurgency and corruption.

Among those who will be appointed in the Panlilio Cabinet will be former Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman and lawyer Tony Lavinia of Ateneo College of Law, the Pampanga governor said. - By Dennis Carcamo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)