MANILA, Aug. 11 (PNA) — The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday reiterated its stand against endorsing candidate in the forthcoming elections and leaving the decision to the electorate.
“The CBCP and the Catholic Church in the Philippines will never endorse a particular candidate or a particular party, leaving the consciences of voters sovereign in this respect, in keeping with long-accepted moral teachings of the Church,” said CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas in a statement.
According to the Catholic prelate, the statement was issued in response to the recent request of a lay group, which he did not identify, for the CBCP to help in screening candidates.
He added that they bishops welcome efforts by the laity to be actively engaged in the service of “evangelizing the political order”.
“We commend efforts to arrive at a collective discernment on the basis of Catholic standards and principles, that are not necessarily sectarian,” the Lingayen-Dagupan prelate said.
With this, he supported the call to hold debates among those who want to occupy a public seat, noting that it is one way to promote political education among the people.
Villegas urged local dioceses to organize fair debates among candidates.
“We hope that our dioceses will organize public fora and debates that allow the public to familiarize themselves with the positions, platforms, plans, beliefs and convictions of our candidates,” he added.
Among the topics to be included in the debates are the issues on poverty, political dynasties, and peace efforts in Mindanao. (PNA)