Over 120 Jesuits are backing the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo and her running-mate Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
In a statement, the priests said the Philippines’ “collective soul as a people” was at stake in the upcoming elections.
“After assessing each Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate, we endorse Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan,” they said.
“We believe VP Leni and Senator Kiko display the least self interest and are the most capable and morally-credible to promote truth and social justice, protect our democratic principles and freedoms, and pursue our vision as a nation,” they added.
They recognized being part of a society that tolerated incompetence and vulgarity, and said Filipinos have been accustomed to moral decay.
“We acknowledge our complicity in the loss of our collective soul, and we seek conversion,” they said.
They, however, clarified their support for Robredo was an individual decision, and and not as an organizational stand.
Fr. Manoling Francisco of Tanging Yaman Foundation said he had been working closely with the Office of the Vice President in typhoon relief programs.
The international council of the Couples for Christ Catholic lay movement also backed Robredo.
