The Politics of Religion: The Practice of Bloc Voting in the Philippines

I. POLITICS OF RELIGION

“Politics of religion” refers to the role that religion plays in the politics of the contemporary world and the
consequences that a politics of religion has on inclusive nation-building, democracy, and human rights. The
involvement of religious groups in Philippine politics is not new. Looking back, the Spanish colonial era, the “indio
priests” advocated for the “secularization” of the Catholic Church to allow “native priests” to head parishes. At that
time, it was an act of treason that demanded the death penalty, for only “Filipinos” (i.e., Spaniards born in the
Philippines) were deemed to have the capacity to govern and thus native priests could not serve as parish priests.
The intertwined relationship of religion and politics continues to thrive until today through the process of religious
endorsements and religious bloc voting.

According to Allan Cairo Reyes in the Philippine Social Sciences Review journal, there is no agreed definition of
a religious bloc vote in the academic literature. However, there are two generally accepted definitions which he
argues, are essentially the same. Bloc voting can pertain to (1) a religious group voting for the candidate with the
same religious affiliation as they, or (2) religious leaders enticing members to vote for a specific set of candidates.
(Reyes, 2016)

Undeniably, organized churches and religious groups have been involved in electoral politics in the Philippines,
including in the selection of candidates and church members who have run in elections themselves. Few of the many
religious groups whose members are known to practice bloc voting (all members vote for a particular candidate
chosen by church leaders) are the following: The Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), who have allegedly
supported presidential candidates throughout the history of general elections in the Philippines: Manuel Quezon, in
1935; Manuel Roxas, in 1946; Jose Avelino, who lost to Elpidio Quirino in 1949; Ferdinand Marcos, during the
1965, 1969, 1981, 1986 elections; Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. in 1992; Joseph Ejercito Estrada, in 1998;
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2004; Benigno Simeon Aquino III in 2010.

2010

Given these premises, we must ask, how effective are these political endorsements of religious groups? In the
Philippines, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is open to, and has proven numbers for, undertaking command voting
especially for local elections. According to Mahar Mangahas, from their SWS/TV5 Exit Poll in 2010, 4.23% of the
valid votes for President were cast by people who declared their religion to be INC. This adds up to an estimated
1.53 million votes from INC in 2010.

2013
According to Pulse Asia, 3% of the voting populations are members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo; its support could
translate to around 1.5 to 1.8 million votes, citing 2013 data.

First, we looked at the areas where the 12 senatorial candidates endorsed by the INC in the
2013 elections won. Candidates endorsed by INC then were: Edgardo Angara Jr, Bam Aquino,
Nancy Binay, Alan Peter Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Jack Enrile, Richard Gordon, Gringo Honasan,
Loren Legarda, Grace Poe, Antonio Trillanes IV, and Cynthia Villar. Based on 2013 per-precinct
election data from the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), there are 707
precincts where these 12 candidates won. And in 32 out of the 707 precincts, the sum of the
votes for these candidates correspond to more than 89% of all the votes in the senatorial race –
demonstrating a pattern of bloc voting for all these 12 candidates.
2016
For this year’s election, the INC endorsed the candidacies of Rodrigo Duterte for
president and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos for vice president. Gordon was still
endorsed for senator, as well as fellow candidates Frank Drilon, Sherwin Gatchalian,
Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Manny Pacquaio, Ralph Recto, Martin Romualdez,
Vicente Sotto, Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, and Miguel Zubiri.

Duterte and Marcos won in all these identified areas. Those located in Agusan del Sur,
Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Dasmariñas City, and Quezon City delivered anywhere between
98% and 100% of votes for these candidates – proving that the INC's power to influence
voters in these areas remains considerable.

Also, in these places, the 12 INC-backed senatorial bets won, and De Lima managed to
get 0% to 0.2% of votes – proving the success of INC's campaign against her in these
areas.
 Currently, Mangahas predicts that there will be around 1.7 million votes from the INC in 2016 in terms of
Presidential and Vice Presidential posts.

  A million votes can certainly swing the tide in a hotly-contested election. This is one of the manifestations of the
influence of religion in politics or vice versa.

The Jesus is Lord (JIL) movement who ran campaigns for themselves (Bro. Eddie Villanueva in the 2004
Presidential elections, where he won 3% of the votes). The Pilipino Movement for Transformational Leadership
(PMTL), a community composed of Catholics, Protestants, and Born Again groups, bonded together to elect “God-
centered servants” Using a set of criteria called the Gabay-Kristo (Christ-Guide), which is based on Christian values,
PMTL vowed for Grace Poe and Mar Roxas during the May 2016 elections. The El Shaddai – a religious group
with 8 million followers worldwide who did not pick a presidential candidate claiming that its members were free to
choose who to vote but vowed for VP candidate Bongbong Marcos along with several senatorial candidates - Rafael
Alunan, Leila de Lima, Sherwin Gatchalian, TG Guingona, Manny Pacquiao, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph Recto,
Martin Romualdez, Roman Romulo, Francis Tolentino, Joel Vilanueva, and Juan Miguel Zubiri. The Kingdom of
Jesus Christ Kingdom, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. - a Philippine-based Restorianist church have
supported Rodrigo Duterte in the previous 2016 elections.
II. HOW EFFECTIVE IS BLOC VOTING/ THE INCREASING ROLE OF INC IN ELECTIONS

IV. CONCLUSION/ RECOMMENDATION

Though there is no compelling reason to silence the Church’s prominent voice in the country on public matters
and as the Church should remain as that strong moral mouthpiece in order to maintain the delicate balance between
religion and public morality,
Religious bloc voting remains undemocratic. It refutes the voter the freedom of choice - to vote for a specific
candidate freely without the intimidation of anybody. While some of the members of these organized religions
allegedly defy from the “tradition”, the practice thereof continues. As a result, it is now strategic and imperative for
politicians to use religion and faith as a weapon in their agenda to seek for power and vice-versa. Politicians and
religious leaders may now shop each other for the finest deals which fills their respective interests.

The challenge now goes back to voters themselves. It is now the time for voters to pause and contemplate on the
decisions they make. As we were cautioned by Saint Matthew – “To be vigilant for "false prophets in sheep’s
clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves" and "hypocrites who are like white sepulchers which appear beautiful
in the outside, but are full of dead men's bones in the inside.” Always remember that there is nothing wrong with
being critical; to question their real intentions by asking whether they found religion simply in order to make
themselves appear less corrupt and more electable to the public’s eyes; to wonder whether these people become
professedly religious for any reason other than cold political calculations and economic gains and lastly to ensure
their genuineness and true intentions to their avowed religious adaptations and commitment in serving the people.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Morality is the basis of things but the truth is the substance of all morality.”
REFERENCES:

http://news.abs-cbn.com/image/focus/07/25/15/bloc-vote-presidents-backed-iglesia-ni-cristo-11

(http://www.controversyextraordinary.com/2015/09/iglesia-ni-cristo-bloc-voting-unbiblical.html)

(https://asiafoundation.org/2016/02/24/the-politics-of-religion-in-the-philippines/)

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/783611/el-shaddai-voters-free-to-pick-presidential-bet-but-in-vp-race-its-
marcos#ixzz4xXrzSj2M 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/muqtedar-khan/can-religion-play-a-positive-role-in-politics_b_7466144.html

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