There is no Catholic vote. This much Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago asserted in June last year at when push came to shove over what is now the Reproductive Health (RH) Law being that is being contested at the Supreme Court (SC).
Santiago’s claims had some basis since the Catholic Church in the Philippines never issued a sample ballot to candidates and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) as a body does not intend to issue one.
The Diocese of Bacolod emerged with the potential to change the perception of a non-existent Catholic vote when its cathedral church featured a tarpaulin banner classifying candidates who opposed and supported the RH Law as “Team Life” and “Team Death.”
The constitutionality of the political banner in church territory has also gone on, like the RH Law, for litigation in our highest tribunal.
In this campaign period for the May 2013 midterm elections, candidates cannot afford to discount the emergence of a faith-based vote that makes an impact since the issues that concern the Church as well as the State have sufficiently stirred the faithful into action.
While the SC resolves the faith and State questions on its plate, no politico can condemn the Catholic faithful for coalescing into a significant voting bloc since for many elections politicians and parties have been courting the support of groups like Iglesia Ni Cristo and the Jesus Miracle Crusade.
The CBCP recently issued a statement titled “Regarding the Involvement of Catholics in the Coming Elections.” The meat of the document issued by Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes reads, “Like the CBCP, the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life does not have a list of candidates to vote for or a list of candidates not to vote for.
“Every bishop, however, is free as to what guidance to give the faithful in his arch/diocese regarding voting in the coming elections: either by giving just general guidelines or producing a list of candidates to vote for, etc.”
One organization composed of lay Catholics and called catholicvote.ph has a significant online following and urges them to “vote as Catholics.”
Meanwhile, Catholic lay leader Brother Mike Velarde and other non-clergy or religious communities have manifested that they can muster betwen six million to eight million votes in support of senatorial candidates who are clearly “pro-life,” that is, opposed to divorce, population control, euthanasia, same-sex marriage and abortion.
In 2004 in the United States, a mix of Catholic, Evangelical and Jewish votes ensured the election of Republican George W. Bush over Democrat John Kerry for a second term at the White House.
Could this be the year of the Catholic vote in the Philippines?
As voting day draws near and even Muslim groups have gone to the extent of issuing a “fatwa” calling the backers of the RH Law “anti-Muslim,” Candidates cannot afford to be complacent and underestimate faith-based voting.