VOICE OF THE SAGUIGUILID NO. 31 Evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva of Bangon Pilipinas, a student activist in the ’70s, visits PUP, his alma mater. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines—“Why did they allow elections to be very expensive?” Christian evangelist Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” Villanueva asked.
His Bangon Pilipinas party has spent around P20 million, mainly on television and radio advertisements for his run for the Senate in next Monday’s midterm elections.
A group of Bangon supporters who backed him in his unsuccessful run for president in 2004 and some born-again Christians from the entertainment industry are behind the TV ads, the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) leader told the Inquirer in a recent interview.
“Better late than never. But I have yet to see those TV ads because I have been tied up in our provincial campaign. We’ve covered about 40 provinces nationwide,” Villanueva said.
No budget
Bangon Pilipinas “has no budget for those expensive TV ads,” he said.
“We can’t match what other senatorial candidates are spending on those ads. The group’s budget, which came from contributions from people who pity me is limited to our transportation, hotel and other campaign-related expenses … I also want to advertise in the Inquirer, Star and Bulletin,” he said.
“You can’t compete without advertising. Pardon me for saying because of the unfair, unjust privileges of moneyed people during elections, the absence of a level playing field in the electoral system makes democracy a farce,” he said.
Villanueva said he was “aware of the tremendous help trimedia ads could do for a candidate, especially for independents.
JIL churches
But he is confident, he said, that an undisclosed number of JIL members worldwide and their counterparts from various Christian groups are “doing their share” to help him in his run for the Senate.
“There are JIL churches in all provinces, as well as major cities and big towns in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Add to that JIL groups in 50-plus countries all over the world where overseas Filipino workers and other Philippine nationals are based. Even in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia, there are JIL members who have been actively campaigning for my senatorial bid. JIL groups are involved in cell-grouping multiplications. That is why, we can’t tell the current total number of JIL members all over the world,” he said.
JIL’s “network of youth volunteers” is also supporting his campaign, he said.
He was referring to Bangon Kabataan (BK), headed by his daughter Jovi, and its affiliate groups like the Kristiyanong Kabataan para sa Bayan, or KKB, which the preacher formed in December 1989.
This weekend, an undisclosed number of Villanueva’s supporters, including BK and KKB members, will form a “human chain” from the Cultural Center Complex on Roxas Boulevard to Rizal Park in support of Villanueva’s renewed call to “vote out the trapos (traditional politicians) and vote for new politics.”
For Villanueva and his supporters, the park, also called Luneta and regarded as “Kilometer Zero,” represents “hope for both new politics and a new Philippines.”
In 2004 and 2010, Villanueva’s backers conducted similar human chains on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) and Roxas Boulevard. They carried placards, danced to his campaign jingles, and flashed the V-sign at motorists.
Villanueva garnered nearly 2 million in 2004 and polled 1.12 million votes in 2010.
More votes this time
This time, he is confident he will “get more votes and get elected to the Senate.”
“Unlike the last presidential race, I think this one would be much easier, even for an independent candidate like me. The voters are tasked to pick 12 senators. I’m sure that among the 33 senatorial candidates, I am not behind the most qualified, if not better, candidates as far as educational background, experience, competence and political will, among others things, are concerned,” he said.
He recalled that “in the past, if you were opposing Malacañang, most likely the Commission on Elections was also your enemy. Then you’re doomed.”
“Sad to say, that’s my experience in the last elections. I had so many pieces of evidence pointing to poll cheating here and abroad (through the overseas absentee voting system). A case in point was a poll precinct in Parañaque where I got zero votes, although members of at least 10 Christian churches voted for me … But I think that’s all water under the bridge,” he said.
But he said he believed that “under President Aquino, that shocking experience won’t happen again.”
Early this month, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) endorsed Villanueva’s candidacy, and he was thankful for it.
“Coming at a significant time, on Labor Day, it underscores our commitment to workers’ rights,” he said, adding that the Bangon Pilipinas platform is attuned to the needs of workers.
Estrada’s backing
Aside from the TUCP, Villanueva has also won the support of political heavyweights like former President Joseph Estrada.
“During a recent meeting at his Manila home, he surprised me when he raised my hand. He told me, ‘I like you to be in the Senate. You must be there because I believe in your advocacy,’” Villanueva said quoting Estrada.
He said sometime in early February, Estrada came to see him at his place in Bocaue town, Bulacan province. Estrada, he said, offered him a slot on United Nationalist Alliance’s senatorial ticket.
“I declined his offer because I had to take a neutral stand in the electoral fight between UNA and the administration coalition Team PNoy. Like the President, some of those in the opposition are also my friends,” Villanueva said.
‘Saguiguilid’ support
On May 13, Bro. Eddie is banking mainly on the support of what he calls the saguiguilid, or the country’s marginalized sectors.
When he launched his campaign for a Senate seat in Malolos City on Feb. 12, the 66-year-old Bulacan native vowed to be the “voice of the saguiguilid.”
“If elected, I will make sure the country’s marginalized groups will not be left out of the country’s economic achievements,” Villanueva told the crowd of 2,500 in the Bulacan provincial capital gym.