Rappler Talk: Archbishop Soc Villegas on Church, politics, and #EDSA36

Bookmark and refresh this page for our Rappler Talk interview with Archbishop Socrates Villegas, 11 am (Manila time) on Monday, February 21

MANILA, Philippines – The anniversary of the 1986 People Power Revolution is taking a different turn this year. The son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted in that peaceful uprising, is now leading the presidential race according to surveys.

On Monday, February 21, Rappler news editor Paterno Esmaquel II talks to Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, a protégé of the late Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and now one of the country’s most prominent bishops.

At the age of 25, Villegas was Sin’s private secretary when the cardinal called Filipinos to EDSA in February 1986. Better known as Father Soc, the 61-year-old prelate was also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines from 2013 to 2017.

How does Villegas view the People Power anniversary this year, when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is topping presidential surveys? What is the role of the Church in politics, particularly the 2022 presidential race? Why does People Power matter, 36 years after Marcos was ousted?

Watch this and more on Rappler Talk. – Rappler.com