As in previous polls, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will not endorse candidates in the May 2022 polls.
"Based on history, the CBCP has never endorsed candidates. And for this 2022, I don't think they will do otherwise," CBCP Public Affairs Committee Executive Secretary Father Jerome Secillano said during the launch of One Godly Vote (OGV) campaign on Thursday, Sept. 2.
"The Catholic Church might be criticized for being partisan and we do not want that, for the Church as an institution, especially the CBCP as a hierarchy, to be criticized for having preferred candidates,” he added.
"All those baptized as Catholics are called laity. They are the ones that can endorse candidates," said Secillano.
He also clarified that the OGV is not a program of the CBCP or the Archdiocese of Manila rather of Radio Veritas.
Secillano, meantime, said that the goal of the ‘’One Godly Vote’’ campaign is to educate voters in using the framework of Catholic social teaching to examine candidates.
"The evangelization part will emphasize morality and ethics in governance. Legal and secular principles alone are not sufficient in addressing our country’s ills," he said.
"As it now stands, there is a great deal of leaving morality and ethics out of the public sphere. This campaign seeks to reclaim these principles and ultimately make them as one of the standards by which we measure the candidates," added Secillano.