Living up to his pledge to act as peacemaker, Bro. Eddie Villanueva on Monday, February 18, spearheaded an ecumenical prayer for honest, orderly and peaceful elections (HOPE).
Former Senate President Ernesto Maceda of the United Nationalist Alliance and Senator Allan Peter Cayetano of the Liberal Party Coalition attended the event.
Villanueva, who is running for the Senate under the Bangon Pilipinas party, urged everyone running for a position in the May elections to momentarily set aside political differences and unite for a common cause: HOPE.
Participants of the event were urged to abide by and push for the implementation of the HOPE Manifesto which was read during the event at Club Filipino in San Juan City.
“It’s important to show the public that we are all committed in safeguarding the elections from any possible fraud,” Villanueva said. “Having HOPE will help bring back the faith of Filipinos in our electoral system, and ensure that the true voice of the people is heard.
”Representatives of various faith groups such as Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Baptist Group, Fourth Watch, Interfaith Global, Seventh Day Adventist and Islam said a prayer for HOPE during the event.
Villanueva, founder of the Jesus Is Lord Movement, launched his campaign for a Senate seat in his home province of Bulacan on February 12 as he vowed to be the voice of the “*sagigilid*”.
Villanueva uses “*sagigilid*” to collectively describe modern-day marginalized Filipinos that include farmers and fisherfolks forced to live in debt because they cannot earn enough to live a decent life, professionals doing menial work overseas to earn a living for their family,and poor families living in inhospitable areas in the margins of cities.
During a kick off rally at the Bulacan Capitol gymnasium, the 66-year-old Bocaue native urged his fellow Bulakeños and the rest of the country to support his platform centered on 3Es – Ekonomiyang Agresibo’t Walang Napag-iiwanan, Edukasyon na Napapanahon, at Entre-Pinoy na Masang Pilipino ang Nangunguna at Nakikinabang – which focuses on the importance of inclusive growth, especially for the “*sagigilid*”.
Villanueva, when he filed his candidacy in December 2012, vowed to act as peacemaker in the Senate should he win. He said he will persuade disagreeing senators to set aside their differences and unite so the chamber can hasten the legislation of laws urgently needed to further the country’s development.
“Right now, we see how differences in opinion have delayed so many crucial laws. It is sad how some issues have been focused on petty quarrels instead of exercising magnanimity for the sake of the greater good of our people, especially the *sagigilid*,” Villanueva said.
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