200 clergy, lay people in Cebu support Leni-Kiko tandem

Vice President Leni Robredo and his running mare Sen. Kiko Pangilinan has gotten the support of 200 clergy and lay volunteers in Cebu. Robredo and Pangilinan are running for President and Vice President respectively in the coming elections| Inquirer file photos

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Several members of the Roman Catholic church here in Cebu formally threw their support for the Presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. 

Members of the clergy, religious and consecrated persons of the Archdiocese of Cebu, and lay volunteers organized a Holy Mass for Good Governance on Thursday, May 5, at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

The Mass also marked their formal announcement, endorsing Robredo and Pangilinan for the Presidential and vice presidential races this May 9. 

Dr. Tricia Robredo, Vice President’s daughter, was also present in the event.

Around 200 individuals, including priests, nuns, and lay people, joined the movement. 

According to the group’s statement, which was read orally after the Mass, they chose Robredo due to her ‘untainted public track record’, for promoting ‘transparency in the government’, and ’uniting people of different persuasions’. 

They also said that her running mate, Pangilinan, would greatly help farmers and the marginalized sector. 

“The two candidates embody integrity and concern for the marginalized, which the Church has always advocated. The two have consistently opposed the wanton killing of drug suspects,” they said.

“Together, we hope that this tandem will embody the teaching of the Church on the option for the poor and the marginalized,” they added. 

The group also said rampant misinformation and historical revisionism prompted them to come out, and openly express their support to Robredo and Pangilinan. 

“We are painfully aware of the Church becoming power brokers. But times are extremely extremely abnormal and we believe that silence in front of a possible return of a lamented past is even more dangerous,” they explained. 

Over 1,200 priests nationwide, under the group Clergy for the Moral Choice, earlier declared their support for the Robredo and Pangilinan’s candidacies.

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