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INC endorsement of Bongbong-Sara: Ka Leody says expected, Walden says ‘disturbing

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Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The tandem of presidential candidate Leody de Guzman and vice presidential bet Walden Bello said they already expected the endorsement by the religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) of their rivals former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.“Pwede namang gawin kasi yun ang practice ng Iglesia na tuwing malapit na ang eleksyon o botohan tsaka sila nag-eendorse batay sa kanilang study o survey din. And at the same time, talaga namang mahabang panahon magkasama sila ng mga Marcoses, ang Iglesia tsaka si Marcos,” De Guzman said after attending a forum sponsored by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) on Tuesday afternoon.The religious group endorsed the Marcos Jr.-Duterte tandem Tuesday night.“I’m not surprised because in many ways, the INC has always catered to the more conservative, the more authoritarian candidates in the past,” Bello added.But for Bello, the INC’s endorsement of any candidate for any elections is not good for democracy and should be reexamined.“It’s always very disturbing if there is a force that tells its people to vote for certain candidates and does not give them a choice as individuals. I think this is not very good for our democracy when you have a force of 2 million people that follow lock step yung sinasabi ng head ng church,” he said. “I hope that the INC changes its policies and doesn’t go on with its traditional practice of commanding its adherents to vote according to the preference of the head of the church,” he added.The INC’s endorsement is among the most sought-after endorsements for political candidates as the 2 million-strong religious group promises bloc voting.In the 2016 presidential elections, the INC endorsed then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sara&#x27;s father, for the presidency, and Marcos Jr. for the vice presidency.While Duterte won the presidential race, Marcos Jr. lost to now Vice President Leni Robredo.Previous presidential candidates INC supported who went on to win the presidential race include former presidents Benigno Aquino III, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Joseph Estrada. Observers say the group usually delays endorsement until close to the elections when a clear winner has emerged.Except for Estrada’s early endorsement, the INC usually endorsed candidates a week before election day with the group switching from then-Senator Manuel Villar to Aquino in just 5 days before the May 2010 polls.<div>SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE</div>Bello said he would not be surprised if the endorsement comes in exchange for political favors.“Ang sense ko lang is that it’s not pursuing the interest of the Filipino people but a sectarian interest of a certain religion,” he said.“We have a separation of Church and State and at the very heart of the citizen’s participation and democracy is the vote. And this is why I very strongly object to the INC’s command vote,” he added.The separation of Church and State or the non-establishment clause in the Constitution does not prohibit churches from making known their candidates for any election but prohibits the government from setting up a church or imposing policies that favor a particular religious group.But Bello finds “very, very worrisome” churches meddling in politics.He cited the Catholic Church’s intervention on the issue of the Reproductive Health Bill and “emerging church groups like the Quiboloy group that also try to use their religious resources to gain political influence.”“I would say that we really need to bring back a very secular orientation para sa ating demokrasya. Otherwise, we could have our democracy subverted by religious sectarian kind of processes and preferences,” he said.<div>DE GUZMAN: PRRD ENDORSEMENT ’USELESS’</div>The tandem however sees little value had President Rodrigo Duterte endorsed any candidate for the polls next week.The president made clear Tuesday he will not endorse anyone.“Tingin ko wala nang silbi, mag-endorsement siya o wala. Pero alam ko ang puso at paa niya nandun na sa kabila. Di ba, nandun sa sinamahan ng anak nya, kung anuman ang sabihin. Pero yun, wala namang silbi yun,” De Guzman said, referring to Duterte’s daughter Sara who agreed to run as vice presidential candidate with Marcos Jr. as presidential bet.Bello, for his part, said it’s hard to gauge the impact of a presidential endorsement at this point.“There’s still a segment of the population that would probably go as Duterte goes. But at the same time, I think this campaign has created a more critical kind of thinking among the electorate, na maski siguro mataas ang popularity rating ni Duterte, that does not exactly translate into yung preference niya,” he said.“Kaya maski siguro nagbigay siya ng preference, baka yung impact nun is not as great, would not be as great. Ang sense ko ngayon is that yung non-endorsement niya of anybody at this point, probably is more positive than negative at this point,” he added.Rather than endorsing a candidate, De Guzman gave this piece of advice to the president:“Dapat paghandaan ni Pangulong Duterte yung mga susunod na mangyayari pagkatapos ng eleksyon,” he said.The International Criminal Court is currently probing the president’s bloody war on drugs, which has killed more than 6,000 drug suspects based on the police’s official tally but is feared to have taken as much as 30,000 lives according to rights groups.Duterte on Tuesday reiterated he does not have any presidential candidate, just days before the May 9 elections.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/03/22/duterte-says-he-has-no-presl-bet-even-until-december">Duterte says he has no presidential bet, even &#x27;until December&#x27;</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2021230" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

“I’m not surprised because in many ways, the INC has always catered to the more conservative, the more authoritarian candidates in the past,” Bello added.

INC endorsement of Bongbong-Sara: Ka Leody says expected, Walden says ‘disturbing

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INC endorsement of Bongbong-Sara: Ka Leody says expected, Walden says ‘disturbing

Mike Navallo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 03, 2022 10:52 PM PHT

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Walden Bello

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