MANILA, Philippines?After saying he was prepared to leave the priesthood to run for president next year, Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio Monday said he would seek reinstatement in the Catholic Church if he lost.

Suspended from his priestly duties during his three-year term as Pampanga governor, Panlilio said he found it hard to give up his clerical role completely.

The Church prohibits its priests from running for public office.

Panlilio?s immediate superior, San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, has warned the governor that he should ask for dispensation from the Church should he run for a higher office.

?That?s the point. That calls for a big sacrifice because I truly love being a priest. In fact should I lose I will still return to the priesthood if I could,? Panlilio said.

Told that the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines had said that he could no longer be reinstated once he was granted dispensation, Panlilio was undeterred.

?That is unfortunate. I will contest that because there are past cases where a priest who has left the priesthood, for example, because he wants to take care of his mother, have been allowed to return. In my case, we are not just talking of taking care of our mother but our motherland,? he said.

Panlilio said he was giving himself until Nov. 30, the deadline for filing of candidacy, to decide if he would run for president after all and file his request for dispensation from the Church under a process outlined by the Vatican.

Once granted, the priest is released from his clerical obligations of celibacy and obedience to his bishop and could no longer celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments.

Panlilio on Saturday announced he was prepared to run for president in 2010 during the launch of the new civic group, Kilos Na! Movement which openly declared that it would campaign for the governor.

The announcement prompted Aniceto and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Panlilio?s former superior, to declare that the governor should now choose between priesthood and a political career.

All about money

?Yes, but it?s not as simple as that,? Panlilio said.

?Being a priest and being a politician are not separate things. While I?m into politics for the past two years, I never lost touch with my priesthood,? he said.

Lucena Bishop Emilio Marquez said he did not think Panlilio could win the presidency.

?The bitter reality about Philippine election is that it is decided by money. And I?m sad to admit that most often, sincerity and noble intention have no equations in the election outcome. Does he have the money to spend in the campaign?? Marquez said in a phone interview.

?Besides, he may be popular in Central Luzon but here in Quezon, particularly in the countryside, he is a total stranger. And the bulk of the voters are in rural places, so how can he win? He will surely lose the election,? he said.

Should Panlilio decide to pursue his political plan he must first seek total dispensation from the Vatican, Marquez said.

Not now, not right

Oriental Mindoro Bishop Warlito Cajandig advised Panlilio: ?Not now, because if you will resign as priest just to run, for me, it is not right. The vocation of priesthood does not mean that you will just have to leave priesthood to run for a political office.?

?That?s his choice to make,? said Bishop Joel Z. Baylon of the Diocese of Masbate.

Msgr. Zosimo M. Sañado, parish priest of the Naga City Metropolitan Cathedral, also said Panlilio?s decision ?could not be contested? but that it constituted disobedience.

?In a scale of 1 to 10, I place my support to the presidential aspiration of Panlilio to 5,? he said.

Arroyo heckling continues

Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel ?Mikey? Arroyo Monday continued his heckling of Panlilio.

?I believe Governor Panlilio has a better chance of winning a national position than seeking reelection as Pampanga governor since 85 percent of his local supporters here have publicly deserted him and most of his supporters now are based in other areas outside of Pampanga,? Arroyo said in an interview with reporters.

He noted that Panlilio had been emboldened to come out with his plans for the presidency after getting an endorsement from nonresidents of Pampanga?Kaya Natin leaders such as Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City and Governors Teddy Baguilat Jr. of Ifugao and Grace Padaca of Isabela.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s son said that Panlilio did not have a convincing win in the 2007 election, where the priest had a slim 1,000-vote lead over former Provincial Board Member Lilia Pineda who had petitioned the Commission on Elections for a recount.

He said this could explain why Panlilio had vigorously moved to delay the recount.

?If the governor truly believes he won the elections fair and square, he has nothing to fear on what the recount could reveal,? Arroyo said.

The young Arroyo has said that he would enter the race for Pampanga governor if his mother decided to run as Pampanga representative at the end of her term next year. With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. and Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Inquirer Southern Luzon