DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a 10-point guideline to help Catholic voters elect leaders based on the moral teachings of the Church.
In a statement titled “Wise as serpents, innocent as doves,” CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said he issued the guidelines “as the rhetoric and the noise traditionally associated with Philippine politics and elections reach higher levels of intensity.”
First guideline is that voters should reject claims of candidates that they are “chosen” candidates of the CBCP, or of a diocese, or of a particular bishop.
Second, bishops should desist from any action or statement that may give the appearance of persuading the faithful to vote for a particular candidate.
Third, the desired qualities of leaders and the political options open to the people are proper subjects of the collective discernment of the members of the lay Catholic communities and associations, as long as these take place in the context of prayer, a careful reading of the Scriptures in the light of the Church’s teaching, a sense of fairness, and concern for the common good.
Fourth, Catholic voters should evaluate candidates according to the model of Christ who came to serve, not to be served.
Fifth, Catholic voters are reminded that surveys show trends and are as limited as the methodology used to conduct them.
Sixth, a Catholic cannot support a candidate who vows to wipe out religion from public life.
Eighth, a Catholic is not closed to the candidacy of a non-Catholic.
Ninth, voters are cautioned that a candidate who has thus far spent time demolishing the reputation and tarnishing the good name of fellow candidates must be suspect.
And 10th, Villegas warned against the use of government resources, the power of government offices and instrumentalities and subtler forms of coercion and intimidation to promote the chances of a particular candidate.
The CBCP president also appealed to the Commission on Elections to ensure that all the security measures mandated by the Automated Election Law be implemented diligently.