HomeNewsCatholic bishop slams Mike Velarde’s ‘endorsement’ of Marcos, Duterte-Carpio

Catholic bishop slams Mike Velarde’s ‘endorsement’ of Marcos, Duterte-Carpio

Bishop Bacani said Velarde did not consult El Shaddai elders about his decision to raise the hands of the candidates during a prayer rally

A Catholic bishop slammed Mike Velarde’s ‘endorsement’ of the presidential candidacy of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and the vice presidential candidacy of Sara Duterte-Carpio.

“I will make this clear. First, what Brother Mike did was not an endorsement of El Shaddai,” said Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani of Novaliches, spiritual adviser of the group El Shaddai, which is header by Velarde.

“That is not El Shaddai. Is that clear? That is Brother Mike Velarde, who is head of El Shaddai, but it is not the opinion of the body,” said the bishop in a radio interview of Monday, February 14.



Bishop Bacani said Velarde did not consult El Shaddai elders about his decision to raise the hands of the candidates during a prayer rally.

“In my opinion, [Velarde’s] endorsement was wrong. It’s downright wrong. You can’t endorse a man like Bongbong Marcos for president,” said the bishop.

On Saturday, the Lakas Kampi – Christian Muslim Democrats political party announced that Velarde endorsed the candidacy of Marcos and Duterte-Carpio.

A photograph of Velarde that appeared on social media on February 12 shows the religious leader raising the hands of Marcos and Duterte during a prayer rally.

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“Now I’ll do something,” he told the crowd. “And in response, shout ‘Brother Mike, the choice is yours!’” said Velarde as he raised the hands of the candidates, adding that Marcos is “(our) presidential candidate.”

Bishop Bacani, however, said El Shaddai members are free to choose their candidates for the May 2022 national elections.

“[Velarde] cannot force his followers to vote for this or that candidate,” he said, adding that Catholics are free to choose who to vote for based on his or her knowledge and conscience.

“There is no command vote in the El Shaddai, unlike in the Iglesia Ni Cristo,” said Bishop Bacani in Filipino, referring to the religious group that is known to endorse political candidates during elections.

A survey conducted by pollster Pulse Asia shows that Marcos remains to be the most preferred presidential candidate among respondents from socioeconomic classes CDE, followed by Vice President Leni Robredo.

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