Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan—Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday confirmed meeting the influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) sect but stopped short of spilling details.
In an interview after his campaign sortie here, Binay said he sought the INC’s support on Thursday in a meeting with Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo at the Central Headquarters bulwagan office.
“Basta tinatanggap ko nagkausap kami ni Ka Eduardo (I admit that I spoke with Ka Eduardo),” Binay said, without giving details.
READ: Binay woos Iglesia ni Cristo vote
He said the support of the INC would be a big boost to his candidacy to become the country’s next president.
“Sobra sobrang tulong. Kahit sa local elections, yung mga konsehal… pagka-ikaw ay number five, six, seven, eight, pag wala kang suporta ng Iglesia, delikado ka,” Binay said.
([INC’s support] would really be a huge help. Even in the local elections, if a candidate for councilor is in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth place and without INC’s support, he or she is in a risky position.)
Eagle News first reported the meeting between Binay and Manalo on Thursday.
READ: Binay seeks Iglesia support
Binay’s information officer Joey Salgado confirmed the meeting and said Binay discussed his platform of governance.
“The vice president is humbled by the opportunity extended by INC Executive Minister Ka Eduardo Manalo to discuss his programs to lift the poor from poverty and build a compassionate, caring and competent government,” Salgado said.
The INC has also met with other presidential candidates, such as Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Sen. Grace Poe.
In the Eagle News report, Binay was quoted as saying that he visited the INC to seek its support in the upcoming national elections.
The INC is known for bloc voting by sect members in support of the candidates endorsed by their church leaders.
“Humingi po ako ng tulong. Dumudulog po ako rito na sana ay masuportahan ako ng kapatiran. (I came here to seek the support of the brethren),” Binay said in the Eagle News report.
Binay has defended the INC amid a rift within the founding members’ family and allegations of kidnapping of ministers who have accused the church of corruption.
In Aug. 2015, INC supporters staged a demonstration along Edsa and in front of the Department of Justice to protest the investigation by then Justice Secretary Leila De Lima of the kidnapping and corruption allegations faced by the church.
Binay had said the INC supporters were only exercising their freedom of expression and of religion.
READ: Binay defends Iglesia ni Cristo, chides Aquino gov’t
“We cannot fault the INC for resorting to mass action to protect the independence of their church from a clear act of harassment and interference from the administration,” the vice president said.
“Religious freedom is guaranteed by our Constitution. Yet the administration chose to trample on this sacred right. What we are seeing are people fighting for their faith,” he added.
Binay back then had been courting the INC’s favor as he urged the present administration to stop meddling in the affairs of the influential religious sect.
The unrest in the INC stemmed from a split in the founding family when the brother and mother of Executive Minister Manalo posted a YouTube video online claiming their lives were in danger.
In the video, Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo appealed for help. Meanwhile, the Manalo matriarch Cristina “Tenny” Villanueva Manalo prayed for the safety of some ministers who she claimed were abducted.
Online articles written by a certain Antonio Ebangelista also surfaced claiming that at least 10 ministers were abducted and detained for going against the alleged corrupt practices of the INC Sanggunian, including the alleged commissions padded into the construction of the Philippine Arena. RAM
