MANILA, Philippines?President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can mount her own campaign as a congressional candidate in Pampanga regardless of whether her staunch supporter, Lilia Pineda, is installed as governor, Malacañang said Friday.

Undersecretary Gary Olivar, deputy presidential spokesperson, downplayed the possible effect of Pineda's assumption of the governorship on Arroyo's run for a seat in Congress in Pampanga's second district.

"I'm not sure if that would make much of a difference because we're just talking here of one district. It's not clear to me how a governor in Pampanga will be able to influence the race. The President has her own organizations and constituents in her own district,'' he said in a briefing.

The Commission on Elections had declared Pineda as the winner of the 2007 gubernatorial elections in Pampanga over Governor Ed "Among Ed'' Panlilio, a bitter critic of the administration.

Olivar said that Arroyo, if she wins in her unprecedented run for Congress, would have no problem working with any governor as long as their priorities are the same.

"For as long as the two people agree on a common objective, that is worth pursuing together, that will prevail over personal matters,'' he said.

The official said he has no idea if Arroyo has called Pineda to congratulate her, or if she felt happy that her ally's case was upheld by the elections body.

Olivar also squelched speculations that the President had influenced the Comelec's Second Division into issuing a resolution favorable to her ally.

"Just because the President may have been associated in one way or another with this or that side of a dispute before the Comelec doesn't mean she's interfering in the hearing of the case. That's a stretch of logic,'' he said.

"For something like that, you need to show evidence. But there's no such evidence. If we hear such statement, that's speculation and hearsay. There should be no room in the campaign for speculation and hearsay,'' he added.

Olivar said it was up to the Comelec to handle any motion for reconsideration to be filed by the camp of Panlilio.

"We defer to the wisdom of the Comelec to process this kind of responses to the decision that they came out with,'' he said.