Poll lawyer wants priests, lay leaders kicked out of PPCRV

MANILA, Philippines – Priests and lay leaders should leave the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) because they are no longer neutral election watchdogs, an election lawyer said Thursday.

Lawyer Romeo Macalintal said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM that some of the church’s leaders have shown themselves to be “politically active.”

Atty. Romeo Macalintal. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

“Lay leaders should have no relation to the [PPCRV] and the [PPCRV] should not be identified with the church which is now politically active,” Macalintal said.

“[They] should not join PPCRV so they won’t have an opportunity to campaign the political issues being pushed by the church,” he said.

One example of such campaigning was the infamous “Team Patay, Team Buhay” tarpaulins displayed in front of the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City.

Listed under “Team Patay” were the senatorial candidates who voted in favor of the Reproductive Health law while those under “Team Buhay” were the ones who fought against it.

The Church maintained that it was not campaigning but merely a continuing the church’s own advocacy.

Macalintal said that “it would run counter to their position as neutral election watchdog of the Comelec.”

For the full interview, listen to Radyo Inquirer 990AM