MANILA, Philippines — The El Shaddai group of Bro. Mike Velarde has come up with a long list of 14 senatorial candidates from which its members could choose to vote for in the midterm elections on May 13.
Velarde, whose support is traditionally courted by politicians, said he would ask the group’s followers to choose only 12 from the 14 names, whom he believes are all deserving of support.
“Many had requested [for support], and many are qualified,” Velarde told the Inquirer.
The 14 candidates on the list have different political persuasions and even clashing backgrounds.
Lone opposition
They are Sen Bam Aquino, the lone opposition who made it to the list; Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos; Sen. Grace Poe; Sen. Cynthia Villar, Sen. Nancy Binay; Sen. Koko Pimentel; Sen. Sonny Angara; Sen. JV Ejercito; former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada; former political adviser Francis Tolentino; former Sen. Bong Revilla; former police chief Ronald dela Rosa; Dr. Willie Ong; and the President’s former special assistant Bong Go.
Velarde said he chose candidates who he believed could help the poor and the downtrodden, and who have also helped El Shaddai and its Buhay party list in their advocacies in the past.
He expects these candidates to support legislation that would create jobs, which would help address the causes of poverty and illegal drug use, among other societal ills.
On candidates’ request
Another key factor was the candidates’ request to him asking for help. A candidate may be close to him but if the candidate does not ask for support, he has no reason to endorse him or her, he said.
El Shaddai’s own party list, Buhay, was able to get some 2 million votes in the previous election, and could deliver as much or even more in the May polls, said Velarde.
The group’s members are very active in campaigning, he noted. He had asked them to go house-to-house to gather support, he said.
“Everybody is active now, even the nonmembers and the neighbors have joined the campaign,” he said.
He also believes El Shaddai’s contribution as a bloc would remain significant because the group’s members have become used to seeking guidance from its leaders.
“We’re quiet and we don’t meddle. But the people have become used to listening to one voice,” he said.
Velarde, who had served as spiritual adviser to then President Joseph Estrada, said he was no enemy of the current administration.
Lack of unity
His position is that whoever is in power should get help and support from the people, except when it is doing something blatantly wrong.
“We don’t pick fights even if my candidate didn’t win,” he said. “And the Bible says we should pray for our leaders so that they would do the right thing.”
The country’s problem is its lack of unity, he added.
“Let’s support whoever get elected, but we should not allow them to overstep their bounds,” he said.
He has good things to say about the present administration.
“This is the leadership we are looking for. It has the guts to implement the law,” he said.
Report vote-buying
As this developed, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) urged voters not to take it upon themselves to foil incidents of vote-buying but rather report these to authorities to ensure that erring candidates would be prosecuted.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that while they would appreciate it if voters would be able to document this unscrupulous activity, it would be better to report this first to authorities so that this could be properly acted upon and the life of the concerned citizen is not put in danger.
“If you want to help resolve this situation, first go to the police or to the local Comelec. Immediately report it if you heard or were told that such an activity was going to happen in your area. You don’t have to wait for the money to be handed to you and you’d document that,” Jimenez said.
He stressed that this was because a mere photograph of a cash-filled envelope with the candidate’s credentials “isn’t proof that vote-buying occurred.”
“In this politically charged atmosphere, we cannot discount the possibility that the person who released such picture may be working for the opponent of the candidate being accused. In order to properly prosecute the offense, you have to report it to authorities because they have procedures which could help lead to the filing of a case and disqualification [of the erring candidate],” he said.
To manage public expectation, Jimenez reminded the public that prosecuting violators might take time—to the point that they may already be sitting in their post—since they would still have to be accorded due process.—WITH A REPORT FROM JOVIC YEE