Filipino voters urged to remember cardinals’ oath at election

Cardinal David invoked the cardinal electors’ oath: ‘I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.’

The oath taken by cardinal electors at the conclave should inspire Filipino voters in their upcoming midterm elections on 12 May, a Filipino cardinal said.

Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, one of three Filipino cardinal electors, noted the electors’ oath before casting their votes: “I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.”

“Imagine if every Catholic Filipino voter can say the same oath before casting his or her vote in the coming elections?” said David, the Bishop of Kalookan, in a social media post. 

Other Filipino bishops issued statements ahead of the 12 May elections, a contest between the senatorial candidates of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Vice President Sara Duterte. 

In his “Catechism for Elections 2025”, the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Socrates Villegas warned voters against candidates who insult God or back China in its territorial dispute with the Philippines.

“Do not vote for those who mock God or support those who mock God. Do not vote for those who mock religion and ridicule religious worship and devotion,” said Villegas. “Do not vote for those who support the Chinese presence in the West Philippine Sea or those who quietly evade the issue by their silence and empty rhetoric.”

The archbishop also campaigned against political dynasties, where family members take turns occupying political positions or vie for multiple positions at the same time. “Do not vote for more than one candidate coming from the same family. One is enough. Do your heroic share to end political dynasties that continue to cripple our democracy,” he said. 

The Duterte and Marcos families are among the most popular political dynasties in the country.

The Bishop of Cubao Elias Ayuban Jr, in an Easter message that he reposted on social media on 5 May, appealed to Filipino voters to consider the good of all.

“We are in the same boat,” he said. “That is why, in the coming elections, when the future of our country is at stake, we must allow facts to prevail over opinions and let personal preferences be guided by a collective discernment for the common good.”

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