Cardinal David not endorsing senatorial bets – Diocese of Kalookan

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Roman Catholic Bishop of Kalookan (Caloocan) on Saturday dubbed as fake an online post saying Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David is endorsing national candidates for the May 12 midterm polls.

“The letter circulating online claiming to be from the CBCP or Cardinal Ambo is NOT TRUE. Neither the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) nor Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David is endorsing any political candidates for the May 12 elections,” it said.

“Please verify information before sharing. Let’s all be responsible and help stop the spread of disinformation.”

According to the fake online post of a two-page letter bearing the CBCP letterhead and a signature of Cardinal David, he calls on the faithful to vote for senators Ronald Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Rodante Marcoleta, Raul Lambino, Philip Salvador, Willy Revillame, Imee Marcos, Vic Rodriguez, Camille Villar, Jimmy Bondoc, Manny Pacquiao and Bam Aquino.

CBCP Secretary General Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, in a separate statement, said the Church will not endorse any candidate and urged the public to “exercise discernment when reading such social media posts.”

“The Church does not endorse specific candidates. It only offers guidelines to help the faithful make informed choices based on moral and social teachings. If names of candidates are mentioned in supposed Church endorsements, consider them false or misleading,” he said.