By Deighton Acuin

PHOTO: Philippine Daily Inquirer

The camp of presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos urged the Catholic Church to “stop meddling in politics,” even though their client has received recent endorsements from religious group El Shaddai, Kingdom of Jesus Christ’s Apollo Quiboloy, and Bishop Ted Mangalen of Jesus Christ the Deliverer in Guiguinto, Bulacan.

Atty. Vic Rodriguez, who is serving as Marcos’ spokesperson, said that they are “saddened by the men and women of the Catholic clergy who are doing the exact opposite and have abused the pulpit, allowing it to become a platform for hateful and negative campaigning.” This is in response to the statement of Bishop Pablo Virgilio David on February 25 warning people of “radical distortions” of what happened to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ Martial Law. 

“As men and women of the cloth, they should be more circumspect, refrain from openly meddling with politics and stop making reckless imputation or statement that only serves as a spiritual, moral, social and cultural poison,” Rodriguez said, referring to Marcos’ lone agenda, unity.

Answering the camp’s statement, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Public Affairs Executive Secretary Father Jerome Secillano said that it is ironic that they are not complaining if they got religious endorsements.

“Ironically, when their camp received the seeming endorsement of a lay religious leader, they did not complain," Secillano said.

"Why would the church sow division or promote hatred? We see clearly that the church only wishes to speak the truth. Truth that is not invented, but rather attested to by historical records and documents,” the CBCP official added.

Moreover, David said that the Church is only renouncing Satan and not inciting hatred since it is “unChristian.”

"No, we don't foment hatred. That's unChristian," CBCP President David said in a statement according to 24 Oras’ Sandra Aguinaldo.

"The only enemy we are taught to renounce is Satan — who is the prince of lies and who alone is happy when the social media are used to spread lies and disinformation," he added.

With 61 days left before the 2022 elections, the national aspirants are now receiving more endorsements and support for their respective bids, spanning from religious, youth, workers, agricultural, former governing officials, and overseas groups.


Edited by: Phylline Calubayan