Movement for Bro. Eddie 20,000 to attend tonight’s rally

CEBU, Philippines - Bangon Pilipinas lone senatorial candidate Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” Villanueva is set to hold a big rally this evening at the Plaza Independencia, Cebu City .

Villanueva’s camp informed The FREEMAN that they are expecting a crowd of 20,000 from different faith-based organizations headed by Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Church and other Christian groups.

In 1978, Villanueva founded the JIL Fellowship, a non-sectarian Bible-based Christian ministry. He led a pioneering massive evangelism in the Philippines and preached about the good news of the salvation of Jesus Christ.

His message of hope resounded across the country. Thirty-four years after, the JIL Fellowship has successfully evolved into the JIL Church Worldwide that has over four million in membership all over the Philippines and 55 other countries.

Villanueva earlier said there has long been a clamor from Bangon Pilipinas for him to run for office.

The “Bro. Eddie for Senator Movement” (BESMO) was established prior to President Benigno Aquino’s announcement that his son was included in the senatorial slate of the Liberal Party.

But when his son, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Sec. Joel Villanueva, was removed from the LP slate, it prompted Bro. Eddie to file his candidacy.

Despite millions of followers from his JIL movement, Villanueva has lost twice in the presidential race.

But Villanueva believes he has a bigger chance of winning a seat in the Senate in May 13 elections.

Villanueva in a statement said that elected officials should treat their position like any other job, which demands performance and responsibility – not entitlements.

“Congressmen and senators should be mindful that they are working for the people, and the people are the ones paying for their salaries. We should keep in mind that a Senate post is just another job,” Villanueva said.

He noted that being a congressman or a senator is a job and not a position of entitlement where one receives gifts and other benefits that a normal Filipino worker does not receive.

“Senators and congressmen should do no better than their employers – the Filipino people, and should receive the same treatment in compensation and benefits as their employers,” he added.

The candidate said congressmen and senators – like other governmentemployees – are expected to adhere to common workplace rules on attendance and punctuality, pointing out that congressmen and senators only work a fraction of the regular employee’s work days a year.

“By my count, there are only about 50 session days in one Congressional session, versus a normal Juan Dela Cruz who works for more than 300 days a year,” Villanueva said.(FREEMAN)