For Pineda, it’s going beyond ‘jueteng’ issue, Lilia Pineda

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— When President Aquino presented the testimonial of Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda in his sixth and last State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 27, Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan thought her statement was an “objective assessment of his leadership.”

Featuring Pineda in the Sona was a recognition of her ways of good governance, said Pamintuan, a former official of the political party Lakas.

What exactly merited Mr. Aquino’s public acknowledgment of Pineda?

In a video insert in the President’s speech, Pineda hailed the sin tax, saying, “it’s the answer to our goal of providing universal healthcare.”

“It was a big help to the province of Pampanga. In the past, the capitol spent over

P400 million a year in health aid. But when the sin tax law was implemented, those who needed healthcare were covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). We are truly grateful to President Aquino because the project provided a huge relief for Pampanga,” she said.

Her administration, Pineda said, spent the savings on the construction of a birthing station and health centers and the renovation of hospitals.

“We’re so thankful to the President for caring for the poor who are sick,” said Pineda, perceived as a staunch supporter of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is now detained in a Quezon City medical facility on plunder charges.

Pineda attended the recent Sona, her first during the Aquino presidency.

To observers, the Sona episode either signaled that Pineda has proven her worth as a public leader or that she was already past the issue of “jueteng,” the supposed business of her husband, Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda.

Others take it to mean that her close alliance with Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, has not gotten in the way of her gaining new allies.

Former Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio, who was defeated by Pineda in the 2010 and 2013 elections amid the Liberal Party’s (LP) support, saw no politics in the President’s praise of her.

“P-Noy (Mr. Aquino) did what he said, that helping people is beyond politics. What is important is people in need have to be served even if assistance passes through non-party mates,” said Panlilio, a suspended Roman Catholic priest who served as governor from 2007 to 2010.

“It’s politics,” Rene Romero, vice chair of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said of the Sona episode.

“The LP is wooing Governor Pineda because she cannot anymore rely on [Arroyo],” said Romero, who represents the private sector in the Regional Development Council. That, he said, is in the context of the 2016 elections, given her deep arsenal of resources.

In her State of the Province Address (Sopa) on Aug. 12, Pineda said Mr. Aquino must have featured her in his speech because she made the PhilHealth serve the needs of poor Kapampangans, whose claims from the state agency amounted to P1.076 billion in five years.

On top of these, she said, the health services of the provincial government totaled P1.18 billion from July 2010 to July 2015.

Pampanga columnist Caesar Lacson said the President recognized Pineda’s accomplishment in relation to the PhilHealth. “Recall that the PhilHealth is mired in controversy. So the Pineda way of implementing the PhilHealth program proves the system works and counters the bad news,” Lacson said.

After hearing Pineda’s Sopa, Rep. Oscar Rodriguez, LP Pampanga chair, said she delivered an “extensive report” on her public governance. “Every service was extended to the centavo,” he said, referring to the P8 billion in expenditures of the capitol during Pineda’s five years in office.