Pampanga recount completed; winner yet to be announced

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has completed the recount of Pampanga's gubernatorial race in the 2007 elections but is yet to declare the winner. Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, chairman of the second division that administered the recount, said they still need more time to declare who between incumbent governor Ed Panlilio and former provincial board member Lilia Pineda is the winner. More than 4,000 contested ballots were involved in the recount. "We’ll still go over the objections so nobody is qualified to predict what the outcome will be," Ferrer told reporters. He said the winner would be announced "within the year." Panlilio won by a slim margin of 1,147 votes in the 2007 elections over Pineda, a known ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Pineda claimed Panlilio, a priest-turned-politician, won through cheating. Panlilio denied the accusation. The two are expected to present evidence of their respective claims as well as motions for reconsideration to the Comelec en banc. "We’ll give (them) a chance to file their motion for reconsideration. Once they file that, we’ll elevate it to the en banc. And then the en banc will decide," Ferrer said. The Comelec started the recount of the votes last month following the order of the Supreme Court on the protest filed by Pineda. - GMANews.TV