The camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has slammed the Catholic clergy for opposing his presidential candidature.
“While presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos is calling for unity, we are saddened by the men and women of the Catholic clergy who are doing the exact opposite and have abused the pulpit, allowing it to become a platform for hateful and negative campaigning,” Marcos spokesman Atty. Vic Rodriguez said in a statement.
“As men and women of the cloth, they should be more circumspect, refrain from openly meddling with politics and stop making reckless imputation or statement that only serves as spiritual, moral, social and cultural poison,” he added.
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The statement came after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral letter last month warning Filipinos against what it called “radical distortions” in the history of Martial Law under the rule of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
About the letter alluded to Bongbong Marcos, CBCP Bishop Pablo David said, “I think it is obvious from our tone we do not want the dark age of martial law repeated.”
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Hundreds of clergy members and lay organizations like Couples For Christ have come out to declare their support for one of Marcos’ rivals, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo.
Marcos leads in presidential election surveys conducted by the Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia, while Robredo trails behind him in second place.
