Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidates Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo all took in stride the reports that influential Christian denomination Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) didn't endorse them for the May 12 polls.
Speaking in a press conference at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club Friday, May 9 in Mandaluyong City, the three administration bets said that they respected decision of the INC leadership and its members.
"Ako lagi ang aking nasa loob ‘yong boto kasi ‘yan ay natatanging karapatan ng bumoboto maski ito’y isang tao lamang o isang grupo ng tao. So ang attitude ko dalhin man o hindi igalang natin ‘yong kanilang pasya," Lacson said.
(For me, voting is a fundamental right, whether it belongs to an individual or a group of people. So my attitude is, whether they choose to support us or not, we respect their decision.)
"At kami naman, ako matagal, marami tayong kaibigan sa INC mananatili pa rin kaming kaibigan nila maski hindi kami dinala (And as for us, I have had long-standing friendships within the INC, and we will continue to be their friends even if they did not endorse us)," added the former senator.
Tulfo, who for most of the campaign period was the survey frontrunner, says there are no hard feelings with INC, which strictly votes as a bloc.
"Siguro mayroon silang tinitignan na ano ba isasama ba natin ito? Ito ba ay karapat-dapat na dalhin ng kapatiran? Like what Senator Lacson said, we don’t feel, I don’t feel bad na hindi ako pinili," Tulfo said.
(Perhaps they have certain considerations—asking themselves, should we include this candidate? Is this person worthy of our group's support? Like what Senator Lacson said, we don’t feel bad about not being chosen.)
"Sa kanila ‘yon alangan naman ipangalandakan ko ang sarili ko sa kanila kung ayaw naman nila, ng pamunuan. So what I’m going to do na lang siguro is we just have to pray. Told my loved ones to pray on Monday na pumasok tayo," he added.
(That was their decision and I wouldn’t want to insist myself upon them if their leadership decided otherwise. So what I did was simply pray. I told my loved ones to pray on Monday that we make it.)
Sotto, a former Senate President, acknowledged the freedom of choice that religious organizations like the INC exercise.
May kanya-kanya kasing paniniwala, may kanya-kanyang pananaw...to each his own, ika nga (They have independent beliefs and independent views...to each his own, so to speak.)