El Shaddai's BUHAY partylist

Manila, Philippines (May 2010) - BUHAY partylist has the most number of voters coming from mostly in NCR (Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Rizal, Manila, Pampanga, Batangas, Quezon City, Las Piñas, Caloocan City). These locations gave BUHAY partylist almost 700,000 votes!!! A number that any partylist groups can only dream of.



El Shaddai's BUHAY (Buhay Hayaang Yumabong) partylist is obviously a pro-life political group. El Shaddai is a sub group under the Catholic Church. The Catholic church strongly opposes the reproductive health bill now currently being deliberated in the Philippine congress. It is the same bill that put Noynoy Aquino in a balancing act. Noynoy Aquino's iconic heroine mother, Corazon Aquino is a well-known devout catholic. And some press reports suggested that Noynoy Aquino is somewhat supporting family planning.

Now that Noynoy Aquino is the elected next Philippine president, the reproductive health bill will resurfaced and the involvement of BUHAY partylist maybe crucial. With the overwhelmingly success of BUHAY partylist surpassing 1 million votes, BUHAY partylist maybe able to acquire the most allowed number of congressional seats in the political party system of the Philippine congress. This maybe equal to 3 congressional seats for BUHAY partylist.

Philippines is an overpopulated country stricken with poverty. With the primary doctrine or political stand of BUHAY partylist as being a pro-life group, the reproductive health bill maybe in serious jeopardy. The political influence of El Shaddai is unquestionable. Even some of the Iglesia Ni Cristo members voted BUHAY recognizing that El Shaddai is really a larger group than INC. In terms of voting population, Iglesia Ni Cristo is standing in the shoulder of the El Shaddai giant. It is now in the hands of our newly elected president and lawmakers if they will heed the call of the much needed reforms on our numerous problems here in the Philippines or will they give favors to the mythical votes of Manalo's Iglesia Ni Cristo and Quiboloy's Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Davao.

Many news articles and reports have already suggested that the religious vote in this year's election failed to deliver. Religious leaders' promises of political victory have lead their hopefull anointed candidates hoping but ended up miserably believing that religious votes will lead them to political victory. I think it's a nice decision for Mike Velarde not to endorse any presidential candidate in this year's election. But hopefully, this will not break any ties between him and his friends Joseph Estrada and Manny Villar.