MANILA, Philippines – Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Tuesday, September 8, said there was “no political discussion” in his prayer meeting with the Philippines’ top 3 presidential bets in his official residence.

The leading presidential aspirants – Vice President Jejomar Binay, Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, and Senator Grace Poe – joined the prayer meeting on Monday evening, September 7. 

The prayer meeting was convened by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chaired by former Philippine ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa.

“It was organized by PPCRV as part of pastoral care, not only of voters, but also of potential candidates,” Tagle said in a statement released by his office on Tuesday.

“The program was simple: evening prayer, dinner, meditation on humble servant leadership in the Bible, and the role of servant leaders in promoting the common good. No political discussion,” the cardinal added.

De Villa told reporters, “Masaya ‘yung atmosphere.” (The atmosphere was light.)

She even recalled a light moment between Roxas and Poe, whom the interior secretary has been courting to be his vice-presidential running mate.

Roxas: ‘First should be last’

De Villa said that at one point, “Mar would let Grace go ahead” during the picture-taking. At that time, Poe was beside Tagle, and was telling Roxas to take her place beside the cardinal: “Ikaw naman dito.” (You can take this spot.)

Laughing, De Villa said, “Sabi ni Mar, ‘No, no, no. Kasi ‘di ba, he who would be first should be last?’” (Mar said, “No, no, no. Because isn’t it that he who would be first should be last?”)

A photo obtained by Rappler showed Binay, Roxas, and Poe posing with Tagle and De Villa in the Manila archbishop’s residence in Intramuros, Manila. 

Tagle, the most prominent leader of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, is known to avoid talking about politics.

He is also less outspoken about national issues compared to other Catholic bishops.

Tagle’s predecessor, the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, was more involved in politics. Sin helped in leading popular movements that ousted Philippine presidents – dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and actor-turned-politician Joseph Estrada in 2001. 

The Catholic Church remains an influential force in the Philippines, as 8 out of 10 Filipinos belong to this religious group.

The church has often lobbied for or against certain laws, such as the reproductive health law that it opposed.

Still, it does not openly endorse political candidates unlike the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a century-old Christian church that practices bloc voting. – Rappler.com