Iglesia endorses GMA, Noli

Sample ballots to be distributed by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) during worship services today will name President Arroyo and her running mate, Sen. Noli de Castro, as the candidates endorsed by the group’s leaders.

The STAR sources within the INC say the sect’s endorsement of Mrs. Arroyo will be officially announced today.

Earlier yesterday, Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesmen said she continues to woo INC leader Eraño Manalo and El Shaddai’s Bro. Mike Velarde to support her candidacy.

The INC’s sample ballot will also include the names of six senators each from the camps of the administration and the opposition, as well as six mayoral candidates in Metro Manila.

The K-4 senatorial bets named in the sample ballot are re-electionist Senators Robert Barbers, John Osmeña, and Rodolfo Biazon, former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, former Videogram Regulatory Board chief Ramon Revilla Jr and former trade secretary Manuel Roxas II.

The INC also included Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) senatorial candidates former senators Ernesto Maceda and Juan Ponce Enrile, re-electionist Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, former Manila mayor Alfredo Lim, former San Juan mayor Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, and Jamby Madrigal, who ran and lost in the 1998 senatorial elections.

The 10-million strong religious group is also endorsing the candidacies of five Metro Manila mayors running for re-election: Makati’s Jejomar Binay (PDP-Laban), Manila’s Lito Atienza (Liberal Party), Pasay City’s Wenceslao Trinidad (Partido ng Masang Pilipino), Quezon City’s Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats) and San Juan’s Joseph Victor Ejercito (KNP).

The INC included the name of Caloocan Rep. Enrico Echeverri, who is running for mayor under the banner of the KNP.

Courting Votes

Earlier yesterday, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye and official campaign spokesman Michael Defensor separately confirmed that Mrs. Arroyo was still wooing the INC and the El Shaddai to support her candidacy.

Bunye also said Defensor earlier disclosed that Mrs. Arroyo has formally approached and written Manalo and Velarde, asking for their help in her bid to secure a full six-year term.

"And if our President would be granted such support, it would be a big plus" for her, he said.

Bunye, however, hastened to add that Malacañang and the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K-4) will try not to jump the gun on the INC and El Shaddai, amid rumors that Manalo and Velarde have reportedly committed to support Mrs. Arroyo.

"We do not want to preempt those who we approach for support. If it will come, we would thank them for it and give due importance to their support," he said.

Reached by The STAR yesterday, Defensor confirmed that Mrs. Arroyo met with Velarde over lunch last Thursday in Makati City but refused to categorically state if she has already sealed El Shaddai’s support of her candidacy.

"At this point, let us not spread rumors and talk about the support of the INC and the El Shaddai. Let us just respect them on the proper time they will make and relay their decision," he said.

"We hope and pray that our brothers and sisters in the INC and El Shaddai will support us," Defensor added.

Mrs. Arroyo, a devout Catholic, has always considered the INC and El Shaddai — each claiming to have 10 million members — among her allies.

The Commission on Elections estimated that the number of voters for the May 10 elections is pegged at 42 million, making an El Shaddai or INC vote crucial if the members of these two religious groups vote as one.

Bunye also welcomed the reported decision of the Supreme Court recognizing the constitution rights of people, including religious groups, to freedom of expression.

"Endorsement of candidates by religious groups is something we’ve had before and been used to and we welcome the pronouncement by the Supreme Court that religious groups are free to endorse," he said.

The high tribunal had earlier granted a petition filed by Velarde seeking to declare as null and void a ruling made by Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Concepcion Alarcon-Vergara that religious leaders should not be allowed to endorse candidates, citing the constitutional separation of church and state.

The SC, however, left open the issue of religious leaders endorsing political candidates, saying there should be a justiciable issue that should be presented before them.

Gma Tops ’em

In a related development, Mrs. Arroyo topped the election surveys conducted by the National Press Club (NPC) and radio station dzRH.

Mrs. Arroyo garnered 30 of 95 votes cast by NPC members, with KNP standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. in second place with 20 votes. Close behind was independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson, with 19 votes.

Evangelist Eduardo Villanueva got 15 votes, former senator Raul Roco, seven, and Eddie Gil, one vote.

KNP vice presidential bet Sen. Loren Legarda topped the NPC survey with 41 votes compared to K-4 bet Sen. Noli de Castro’s 26 votes. Roco’s running mate Herminio Aquino received eight votes.

In the survey conducted by dzRH from April 24 to 27 involving 9,065 respondents from all over the country, Mrs. Arroyo garnered 31.58 percent of votes.

Poe came in second with 27.76 percent, followed by Roco with 18.22 percent. Lacson was in fourth place with 13.81 percent, followed by Villanueva with 6.63 percent and Gil with .025 percent.

The survey had 1.74 percent of undecided voters.

On the other hand, De Castro topped the dzRH survey with 47.83 percent to Legarda’s 41.53 percent. Aquino had 4.40 percent, with 6.23 percent of voters undecided. — With Marichu Villanueva