If the INC really goes for GMA, then she’s halfway there

It’s not the numbers. It’s the perception.

How many votes can the Iglesia ni Cristo deliver – really? One million? Two million? Three? Five?

Religious sects like the INC, Mike Velarde’s El Shaddai, and Brother Eddie Villanueva’s "Jesus is Lord", or Bangon Party may claim to be able to bring in three to four million votes. (In Brother Eddie’s case, with his "volunteers" bringing in seven voters apiece, he calculates he’ll get 14 million!) Oh, well. Are they all in touch with the Lord Jesus, or the Holy Spirit? One thing is clear: all of them have the ability to put the "touch" on politicians.

Ka Erdie Manalo’s INC, on the other hand, has a proven track record – that of being capable of picking the winner. In the last Presidential race, they chose Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and, to cite his own words, "I won by a landscape!"

In the beginning, it was rumored that the INC – whose head bishop snubbed GMA twice – would ultimately support her bete noir, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson. When I asked Lacson about this, he replied forthrightly that the INC had not committed itself to him.

"They usually wait till almost the end of the campaign, before making their decision," Ping sanguinely added. This is true. I won’t say that Ka Erdie and his INC decision-makers simply wait to see who’s going to be "da winnah" before they make their move, but election after election, this has seemed to be their modus operandi.

The further rumor went about that the INC was insisting on Lacson and FPJ getting together to form a united front. This didn’t happen. Both of the contenders were too stubborn to compromise – i.e., their handlers and respective cordons sanitaires were completely against either giving way. The Opposition remains badly fragmented.

Does FPJ still have a chance of securing INC support? A ranking INC stalwart was already in his camp, a good friend of Erap’s. If Uncle "Imon" was already with Panday, the idea went, wouldn’t the nod of the entire Iglesia be far behind? Ronnie Poe may learn the truth of the old saw: Never take anything for granted. (The word came late last night that Ka Erdie met GMA and she was pledged INC support.)

The KNP is hoping that the Iglesia’s "support" for GMA is not yet engraved in gold or carved in granite, and can be reversed – and transferred to FPJ. For securing the INC’s all-out endorsement, from a bloc which votes as one, tends to stampede other, non-INC voters into joining the bandwagon. For a week, the text message went around claiming that a secret INC "survey" had placed Poe many points ahead of the President, contrary to the Pulse Asia, Social Welfare Stations and Trends surveys. This has proven to be false, hasn’t it?

Let’s await the final announcement. But, I repeat: If it’s confirmed that GMA’s got the INC’s benediction, then she’s on her way. To Xanadu.

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I'm just back from a quick turn-around trip to Hong Kong. It was edifying to see our OFWs last Sunday, at prayer and in weekend discourse with each other.

In Statue Square, on the Hong Kong Island side, there was an El Shaddai service going on. At the Star Ferry Landing on the Kowloon side, a large group of Filipinas were singing, clapping their hands, and happily, fervently, belting out a chorus to "The Power of the Lord". How inspiring it was to see our women, in a foreign city, proclaiming their Faith. They belonged to Brother Eddie Villanueva’s "Jesus is Lord". Indeed, the JIL's work here in Hong Kong is admirable.

On voting day, the Bangon/JIL arranged vans so the faithful could go vote at the Bayanihan Center in Kennedy Town. This was convenient, since they come from great distances.

Voting by our overseas Filipinos in HK has been brisk – and the turnout has been fantastic. Out of the 88,000 registered voters, more than 60,000 have already cast their ballots! The workers patiently queue up, even in the hot sun, to cast their votes.

On Sunday, May 9: the Filipino community in Hong Kong – 120,000 strong – will hold a candlelight Prayer Vigil, to pray for peaceful and honest elections in our homeland.

What can I say but "Mabuhay the Filipino people!" Through trial, disappointment, and tribulation – we will overcome!