Pacquiao vs. Chiongbian or Dominguez for congressional bid - May 10, 2010 election

The Chiongbian Family, who has practically created Sarangani, has expressed confidence that they could maintain their hold on the province.

Sarangani was part of South Cotabato until 1992 when it was “fathered” by the late congressman James Chiongbian (father of incumbent Erwin).

Since then the province remained under the Chiongbian clan.

While the clan is confident of maintaining their hold through Gov. Dominguez, the governor seems to have apprehensions about facing Pacquiao inside the political ring.

A political clan in Sarangani said it remains unfazed even with Manny Pacquiao’s announcement of congressional bid in their province.

The celebrated Filipino boxer, who has just beaten 10-time world boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya, went to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Kiamba on Monday to register as a voter in Sarangani.

The possible opponent of Manny Pacquiao was Roy Chiongbian or Gov. [Miguel Rene] Dominguez on  congressional race, while Rep. Erwin Chiongbian Sarangani  Province was already serving his third and final term.

Fr. Ed Panlilio for President

Fr. Ed Panlilio is the 6th of the Panlilio brood of seven. He was born in Minalin, Pampanga on December 6, 1953 to parents Gervacio Cunanan Panlilio and Catalina Tongol. Gervacio married Eddie’s stepmother, Maria Restinia Regala-Panlilio, a principal of San Pedro Elementary School. The 53 year-old priest has made his mark as a prime-mover for social development, a dedicated and well-loved priest and pastor, and a leader. He is afflicted with vitiligo, a rare skin disease.

Panlilio ran for the position of governor of Pampanga province in the 2007 Philippine general election. Panlilio defends his controversial decision to pursue a political role as a logical continuation of his ministry for the poor, whom he sees as having been exploited and neglected for too long by successive administrations of corrupt and uncaring politicians.

His experience under the Social Action Center spurred him to announce his intention to run as the governor of the province. Because of this, he was suspended from his priestly ministry and is forbidden to perform any duties as a priest, including saying Mass. He won over his two leading competitors, provincial board member Lilia Pineda and re-electionist governor Mark Lapid (both allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), winning over Pineda by a slim margin of only 1,147 votes out of a total of over 600,000 votes cast for all three candidates.

Among Ed though, according to the news flash, is still waiting for the signs before he finalizes his decisions. He said it will depend on the public’s clamor for him to run, which I believe will now pour in after hearing the announcement.

But if you surf around the net many issues regarding Governor Ed Panlilio of Pampanga will run for president in the coming 2010 election.

What do you think?