Bro. Eddie won't run again if he loses

BOCAUE, Bulacan , Philippines  — Bangon Pilipinas presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva declared yesterday that he would not run for president again if he loses this election.

He, however, stressed that a landslide victory is possible if Filipino voters use their conscience.

Villanueva told reporters after casting his vote at the Bunlo Elementary School here that he would not seek the presidency anymore.

“No more, I have given Filipinos the opportunity to choose a good government with moral authority,” he said in Filipino, noting that his administration, if he wins, will have zero corruption for the next six years.

He vowed to remain active in the country’s political arena despite declaring his possible retirement from seeking public office.

Villanueva said no one could separate the political from the personal because “everyday we wake up, we are affected by political life.”

He said that there is a big possibility that he and his party would win by a landslide.

Villanueva cited the latest survey that came out in the newspapers yesterday that nine of 10 Filipinos will vote based on their conscience.

“We are expecting a landslide victory for Bangon Pilipinas,” he said, optimistic about the so-called conscience vote.

“If elections are not credible, there is no mandate, and if there is no mandate, the people will suffer,” he said.

Villanueva, a former student activist, founded the Jesus Is Lord church, one of the largest Christian sects in the country.

He made his first bid for the presidency based on what he described as “raw courage” in the 2004 elections won by President Arroyo.

He said that compared with six years ago, today he has his own party, candidates and watchers.

Villanueva claimed that Malacañang officials have instigated “special operations” against other candidates.

He said that his evidence of cheating during the 2004 elections is the admission from a general and a former governor that there was indeed election fraud.