“Religious sects have been a huge part of the political equation ever since one can remember.”
by Ducky Paredes
If someone told me that he was the “appointed son of God,” that would be the end of our conversation. To me, there can be no meeting of the minds between a sane person (me) and someone apparently delusional and a certified nut case.
So, why are the majority of the Presidentiables attending the presidential forum dubbed as Sukatan 2010 scheduled for tomorrow at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Name Above Every Name main headquarters?
This will be beamed live all over the world to be watched by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s six million followers. Quiboloy’s Sonshine Media Network International says that the presidential forum will “not be a debate, not a competition, not about grandstanding nor sweet talk. The contenders for the country’s top spot will sketch their blueprint, bring real solutions, outline their plan for building this nation.”
The event will be aired in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In the Philippines, it will be aired on cable TV, on Sonshine TV 39 Manila, Sonshine TV 43 Davao, and on 17 Sonshine radio stations, Sonshineradio.com and Sonshine TV.com.
This is the first ever presidential forum Quiboloy’s congregation will be doing in its 25 years of existence. But, Quiboloy has been part of the political scene for sometime now, Recently, the Feast of the Peace of Tabernacle was celebrated former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro, former president Joseph Estrada, senator Richard Gordon, three vice presidentiables and 20 senatoriables.
Quiboloy says (on his website and to anyone who will listen) that he is the son of God, appointed to this position on April 13, 2005.
This is from his website: “So when He (Jesus) was there on the cross, He finished the work which was given to Him, which was to bring about the spiritual component of salvation, which was rejected by the Jewish people. But now, the continuation has come upon us. A body has accepted the spiritual component of salvation.
“The work that the Father sent the Son of God in the Jewish setting to do was to defeat, dislodge and take away from Lucifer what had been taken from our first parents-the kingship and the sonship. He did that, and that’s why after the resurrection, all power in heaven and on earth was given to the Son of God.
“The Son of God in the Gentile setting is now the completion of the Father’s work of salvation. Without the fallen Adamic race receiving the highest honor of being the Appointed Son, there would be no salvation.”
“Salvation has finally come to its focus, which is the fallen Adamic race. And I am your model for that, being the Appointed Son.”
Was Jesus talking about Quiboloy when he said: “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.” –Matthew 24:4-5
I leave others to judge him as a blasphemer. For me, he is simply a nut case and so is the person who would call him her spiritual adviser and those who believe that God will tell Quiboloy on the morning of May 10, 2010, before the polls open, who will be our next President.
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Religious sects have been a huge part of the political equation ever since one can remember. I would think that the Aglipayans (Philippine Independent Church) had their day when their Supreme Bishop, Gregorio Aglipay ran for President and lost to Manuel Quezon.
The Roman Catholic Church had Cardinal Jaime Sin who was instrumental in getting People Power at Edsa going in 1986 and getting Cory Aquino the presidency. Sin had a lot of clout in those days and, while never officially appointed as a presidential spiritual adviser (as Quiboloy is), had easy access to Malacanang, Still, the Church, despite the constant temptation to match the perceived clout of the various sects has not been much of a political force.
The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), registered as a corporation sole with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with Felix Manalo as Executive Minister in 1914, has been a political force for sometime, mostly in local elections, where their members vote as one as dictated by their pastor, the local minister. His grandson, Eduardo, is now executive minister.
The local minister dictates who his members must elect. Although the INC also has chosen candidates for national offices (Senator, Vice President and President), they have not been as potent nationally. Still, the fact that a million or more command votes are available from the INC makes the Iglesia ni Cristo a factor in every politico’s campaign planning.
El Shaddai started from a radio program hosted by Mike Velarde and has provided a forum for politicos who are invited to its gatherings which bring in thousand and which are also televised nationwide. The followers are not instructed to vote one way or the other but the claim that they provided the winning margin for Eddie Ramos in his closely-contested win over Miriam Santiago and Danding Cojuangco in 1992 has been made.
Jesus is Lord’s stated mission is “to bring all peoples to the Kingdom of the Living God regardless of race, color, nationality, and religious affiliation through the saving, healing, and delivering knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Eddie Villanueva, its founder, is a presidentiable (a Pinoy word). Thus, while it has a following, this has not been available to any other politician since brother Eddie has himself been a candidate for the presidency in 2004 and today and has his own slate of senators.
This year, it seems that Quibooloy’s is the sect that our politicians think can deliver. He is, after all, the spiritual adviser of Gloria Arroyo, the politico who has defeated all of her enemies and survived every crisis. Quiboloy claims six million followers world-wide and 1.2 million in the Philippines.
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The 8th FPI Golf Classic Tournament tees off on Monday, March 22, 2010 at the Tagaytay Midlands Golf Course in Tagaytay City. It is sponsored by most of the members of the Federation of Philippine Industries led by San Miguel Corporation and Asahi Glass. The registration fee is Four Thousand Pesos (P4,000.00) and covers the cost of the green fee, golf cart for two people, caddie fee, buffet lunch, raffle ticket and giveaway items. To arrange for reservations, please get in touch with Caren Manzenares or Jojit Yap of the FPI Secretariat at tel. nos. 722-3409, 584-9642 & 727-4359; or through the following e-mails: fpi@fpi.ph, fpi@philonline.com, fpi@pldtdsl.net and fpi.secretariat@gmail.com.
On Friday, March 12, the Federation of Philippine Amateur Senior Golfers, Inc. (FPASGI) will host a Directors’ Cup for its newly elected board at the Camp Aguinaldo Golf Course. And on Friday, March 22. FPASGI has scheduled the First Leg of the San Mig Coffee Sugar Free Senior Golf Tour for 2010 at Eastridge Golf and Country Club.
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hvp 04.07.10)
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