Philippines
Group denies endorsement of Robredo and Pangilinan for May 9 presidential polls
Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo smiles as she accompanies her running mate Senator Francis Pangilinan as he files his certificate of candidacy for the May 9 election with the Commission on Elections in Manila on Oct. 8, 2021. (Photo: AFP)
The Knights of Columbus in the Philippines has denied any political support for candidates in the May 9 presidential election, particularly for opposition candidates Leni Robredo and former lawmaker Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
The announcement on May 6 came in response to social media posts claiming the organization had endorsed the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem just as many clergymen and church groups had done.
The Knights of Columbus said it has remained non-partisan to avoid division in the organization.
“Appearing and circulating in social media is a post supposedly coming from our Knights of Columbus ‘endorsing’ the Leni-Kiko tandem. This is not true,” said Knights of Columbus in a statement.
According to the group, individual members may support certain candidates but the organization must remain neutral.
“While we are individually encouraged to support, and even campaign actively for, our favorite candidates as part of our citizenship obligations, the Knights of Columbus, as an organization, is not making an official endorsement of any candidate,” the group said.
“I think they have chosen fraternity over the common good of the nation. The Word of God cuts deep within one’s conscience. When we talk about good versus evil, there is no middle ground. There are no fraternities”
“This was the stand of all four jurisdictions in our meeting, where all four state deputies were present in order to avoid partisan division within our fraternal organization.”
As of 2020, there were about 500,000 Knights of Columbus in the Philippines. The order was founded in 1882 by Irish-American Father Michael J. McGivney in Connecticut, USA. The group is active in charity work, providing scholarships and giving loans to members.
In January, a member of the organization wrote an open letter to Philippine bishops’ conference president Bishop Pablo Virgilio David defending the non-partisanship of the organization.
“I know very well that Bishop Ambo David was principally referring to me as ‘aggressively’ insisting on ‘non-partisanship’ … I will not say that he is again guilty of prejudgment,” the member said on his Facebook page.
Manila parishioner Martin Sanchez, however, criticized the group’s decision, saying it had prioritized brotherhood over the common good.
“I personally felt frustrated by their decision to remain non-partisan considering many church leaders have already declared their support for Vice President Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan. From the perspective of morals, even using track record and competence, there is no question they deserve our vote,” Sanchez told UCA News.
“I think they have chosen fraternity over the common good of the nation. The Word of God cuts deep within one’s conscience. When we talk about good versus evil, there is no middle ground. There are no fraternities.”
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