Church leaders pledge support for next president

Evangelical church leaders, in a meeting held recently in Quezon City, agreed to give full support to whomever Comelec officially proclaims the winner in the presidential race.

Leaders of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) also agreed to develop and initiate programs that would address poverty and corruption in government and society regardless of who will finally be declared the next president of the Philippines.

The PCEC, made up of evangelical churches nationwide, arrived at this decision after debating between directly asking presidential hopeful Bro. Eddie Villanueva to concede or to affirm the churches’ belief that the "constituted authorities are placed then by God."

The decision is widely believed as the PCEC’s signal that the candidate soon to be proclaimed by the Commission on Elections and the House Electoral Tribune will be respected by the its member-churches.

Bishop Efraim Tendero, national director of PCEC, described the current level of Christian involvement in this year’s electoral process as intense and adverse. He, however, stressed, "Unity in Jesus is far more precious than our political diversity."

"Mature Christians should be able to understand and accept one another even if their political positions differ, and acknowledge the equally important role each plays in accomplishing God’s purposes for our nation," he added.

The church leaders stressed that, while they are committing to support whomever is proclaimed president, they would not hesitate to harness the evangelical community’s strength and influence in society to oppose government programs or projects that would not benefit every Filipino.

"We will give praise where praise is due, but we will vigorously oppose anything that would only take advantage of our people," they said.

With the rich experience gained by the evangelical community through the electoral process, the PCEC aims to mobilize volunteers to undertake intensive political education for its members, especially in the grassroots, and prepare them for crucial roles in nation building.