A group of more than a thousand Catholic bishops and priests called on the electorate to vote according to principles, a move they call the “moral choice”.
With only five days to go before the elections, the Clergy for the Moral Choice (CMC) urged voters to let their “love of country” show through their votes.
Bishop emeritus Antonio Tobias of Novaliches particularly exhorted voters not to vote those in political dynasties and those involved in corruption.
“Moral choice means we should not vote for these people,” Tobias said in a press conference in Manila on Wednesday.
“If we want our country to rise above challenges, let us vote properly. That is the moral choice,” he said.
CMC is composed of more than 1,400 bishops and clergymen, who earlier endorsed presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
According to them, Robredo and Pangilinan “are the kind of leaders with vision, foresight and dreams for our motherland”.
Tobias, however, pointed out that their call for moral choice is not exclusive to top government posts.
“From president to vice president, it goes down the line to the local government,” he added.
Msgr. Mel David of the Diocese of Parañaque turned emotional as he explained why they have to come out in the open about their political stand.
“We’ll just choose to be quiet and live a comfortable life if we don’t love the Filipino people. But we love the country so we did this,” said David, who is also the diocese’s Episcopal Vicar for the Laity.
After the press conference, some priests also marched from the Manila Cathedral to the nearby office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
A Mass was also offered outside the Comelec headquarters for a clean and peaceful elections on May 9.
