Will there be a Catholic vote in 2013?

PHOTO BY KAREN BONCOCAN

The country’s largest Catholic lay groups on Thursday said there would be a Catholic vote in the 2013 elections, as they banded together to conduct a “voter’s education” drive against candidates who support “antilife” legislation.

But there was a countermove from supporters of the measure. They said they would launch an electoral campaign against the legislators who gave the reproductive health (RH) bill a hard time to get approved through dilatory tactics.

Spurred by what they called the “railroading” of the RH bill in Congress, representatives of the Knights of Columbus, Couples for Christ, Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, and other lay groups met at Makati Sports Club to form the Catholic Vote Philippines movement.

“There will be a Catholic vote in 2013. We will deliver it through our memberships and from among our fellow parishioners,” said Dr. Ricardo Boncan, the spokesperson of the movement.

“We saw how our legislators are trying to railroad the RH bill without following the rule of law and we will hold them accountable for that,” he said.

Other members of the movement included the Dominican Network Institute of Teaching Lay Missionaries, Federation of National Youth Organizations, Youth Pinoy, National Youth Ministry, St. Tomas Moore Association, Couples For Christ, Educhild Philippines, Families Against RH Bill, Filipinos for Life, Doctors for Life, Alliance for the Family, ProLife Philippines and the Jericho Community.

“The memberships of these groups run into the tens of thousands and we will be distributing voter’s guides in different dialects to reach all the congressional districts,” Boncan said.

He said the movement would campaign against all proposed laws related to population control, divorce and same-sex marriage, and politicians “espousing laws that run counter to long-held Christian and Filipino values.”

“Contrary to what (RH advocate) Congressman (Edcel) Lagman is saying, that there’s no Catholic vote, we actually have a huge Catholic voters base. Eighty percent of Filipinos are Catholic,” Boncan said.

“We will awaken this huge Catholic base and educate them and we have the means to do it,” he added.