Bro. Eddie sees support from other religious groups

He may be quite vocally Christian, but he expects members of other religious groups to vote for him.

Jesus is Lord (JIL) movement leader Eddie Villanueva said yesterday that he received reports from credible sources that members of the Catholic Church, El Shaddai and other Christian groups "are rallying around him."

He also said some members of the Iglesia ni Cristo sect are expected to vote for Poe based on the pledge of INC supreme bishop Eranio Manalo.

The INC is known for block-voting upon the instruction of the sect’s leaders.

"In times of crises like this, people would go for righteous leaders and not for those who are merely endorsed by religious leaders," Villanueva said.

He said his church, which was established in 1978, has three million members in the country, but added that he will bank on at least seven million votes as promised by his supporters in Task Force Pagbabago.

Traditionally, religious leaders are wooed by those aspiring to elective positions because of the huge influence these leaders have on members of their respective religious groups.

In the 1998 presidential elections, both the El Shaddai and the INC supported Joseph Estrada, who won the presidential race by a landslide before he was ousted by a military-backed popular uprising in 2001.

The candidacy of Villanueva, the Bangon Pilipinas Party standard-bearer, has drawn plenty of criticism from various sectors — to the point that a petition for his disqualification from the presidential derby was filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The motion to disqualify Villanueva was based on the intrinsic constitutional doctrine of the separation of church and state. It was denied by the Comelec and Villanueva was permitted to run for president because he belongs to a duly recognized political party.