Velarde endorsing Marcos Jr. ‘personal,’ not from whole El Shaddai–Bacani
MANILA, Philippines — The endorsement of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. by Catholic charismatic group El Shaddai is personal on behalf of servant-leader Brother Mike Velarde, clarified Bishop-Emeritus Teodoro Bacani said on Monday.
This means the endorsement does not reflect El-Shaddai-DWXI Partners Fellowship International Inc., according to Bacani.
“Si Mike Velarde po ang founder at Servant-Leader ng El-Shaddai, ngunit hindi siya ang El-Shaddai-DWXI Partners Fellowship International Inc. ito po ay mas malawak at mas malaki kaysa sa kaniya [Mike Velarde],” said Bacani in a statement through Facebook.
(Mike Velarde is the founder and Servant-Leader of El-Shaddai, but he is not the El-Shaddai-DWXI Partners Fellowship International Inc. it is wider and bigger than him.)
The Bishop-Emeritus explained that Velarde, who is also the founder of El-Shaddai, did not even consult any of the group’s elders, Bishop Jess Mercado, who is the Bishop of Parañaque, him and Father Sonny Declaros, who are spiritual advisers of the El Shaddai before announcing the supposed endorsement.
He then further clarified that despite Velarde’s move, every member of El Shaddai is free to vote or endorse whoever they want, countering claims that the group practices bloc voting.
In fact, Bacani himself slammed Velarde’s endorsement of Marcos Jr.
“Ang endorsement ni Bro. Mike kay Bongbong Marcos sa aking pananaw, ay maling mali. Sapagkat kung meron man pwedeng i-endorse for president, hindi po si Bongbong Marcos,” said Bacani.
(The endorsement of Bro. Mike to Bongbong Marcos in my view, is very wrong. Because if there is anyone who can be endorsed for president, it is not Bongbong Marcos.)
He stressed that Marcos himself, despite seeking for “unity”, has not even regretted, along with his family, the atrocities committed by the Marcoses during the Martial Law Era.
“Bilyon ang mga nadambong noong panahon na yun, hindi lamang milyon at marami nang nakuhang muli ang gobyerno kaya mali po ‘yun,” Bacani added.
(Billions were looted at that time, not just millions and many have been recovered by the government, so that’s wrong.)
Meanwhile, Velarde earlier announced his endorsement of senatorial candidate Mark Villar, former public works and highways chief.
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