If the deb/rpm on the download page isn’t working/or not for your distro,
you can also try the makepanda tool also included in the Panda3D download. It’s a lot easier to build with makepanda than with ppremake.
Or it would indeed be a good idea to get the newest Panda3D version from the CVS:
panda3d.cvs.sourceforge.net/panda3d