Coalition of evangelical churches supports ‘righteous man of God’ Sotto’s vice presidential bid

Senate President Vicente Sotto III

MANILA, Philippines — A broad coalition of evangelical churches in the Philippines has endorsed the vice presidential candidacy of Senate President Vicente Sotto III, saying he is the “righteous man of God” it is looking for to become one of the country’s next leaders.

After a thorough scrutiny of the candidates’ platform and programs of government and overall character assessment, Bishop Joshua Carbonell, of the Christian Coalition Movement, an alliance of more than 1,700 evangelical churches nationwide, said they agreed to endorse and support the candidacy of Sotto.

Bishop Carbonell said they were further convinced that Sotto ought to be the next vice president of the country after they personally talked with the Senate leader, who in turn laid out his plans and programs for the government should he be elected.

“At salamat sa Panginoon, nakakausap namin ang ating Senate President. Nakita po natin mismo ang kaseryosohan niya sa gusto niyang gawin sa bansang ito. Kaya po, inendorso ng CCM at gusto naming makilala siya at pumasa po sa aming pagsisiyasat. Salamat po sa Diyos. Itaguyod natin ang ating bansa, tulungan natin, payagan ng Panginoon na ang ating Senate President ay maging Vice President ng ating bansa. Salamat sa Diyos,” Bishop Carbonell said.

(And thanks be to the Lord that we had the chance to talk to our Senate president. We learned how serious he is about his plans of changing our country for the better. That’s why the CCM is endorsing him [to be the next vice president]. Thanks be to God. Let us help him [Sotto] build our country. May God let our Senate president be the next vice president. Thanks be to God.)

He added: “Ang dami na nating alam na magagaling at matatalino sa bansang ito. Ang hinahanap po natin ay righteous man of God. At salamat sa Diyos sa dinadami-dami ng kumakandidato sa ngayon, masyado pong naging mapili ang system pati sa coalition movement, inisa-isa po ang lahat ng tumatakbong presidente, bise presidente kasama na ho ang mga senador. At salamat sa Diyos isa po sa napili ng CCM ay ang atin pong Senate President, walang iba kundi si Senator Tito Sotto.

(We have plenty of good and intelligence people in our country. What we are looking for is the righteous man of God. And thanks be to God, that after a careful assessment of the candidates running for president and vice president, and to include senators, the CCM has chosen our Senate president, no other than Senator Tito Sotto.)

He said Sotto possesses that one quality they are looking for in the next leaders of the country – not only religious, but God-fearing, as well.

Bishop Vicente Vicencio, also of the CCM, said their endorsement and support for Sotto’s candidacy is one way in which the church can help the government.

Bishop Vicencio said it is of utmost importance that the next vice president of the country has the four character traits they are looking for – one who believes in the sanctity of life, marriage, and gender, and one who has the moral conviction and ethical standard to become the country’s next leaders.

“Meron po kaming nakitang kaisa-isa lang dahil siya po ay naging katulong natin dahil siya po ang ating Senate President. Naging kasama natin sya noong 2019 at mismong sa kanyang statement ay nadinig namin sa kanya hindi mananalo ang SOGIE bill hangga’t naririto ako,” Bishop Vicencio said.

(We have seen only one as he was one of those who helped us because he is our Senate president. He stood with us in 2019 and we heard it directly from him that the SOGIE [Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression Equality) bill will not be passed into a law as long as he is here.)

“(Siya po) isang taong may paninindigan, hindi lamang sa values, kundi may takot sa Diyos, naniniwala sa salita ng Diyos. Walang iba kundi ang ating Senate President soon to be Vice President, Senator Tito Sotto,” he added.

(He is a man with a strong stance, God-fearing, and who believes in the word of God. He is no other than our Senate president, soon to be vice president, Senator Tito Sotto.)

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