TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
In Philippines election, priests opposed to Marcos turn pink
Baltazar, 47, belongs to a group of like-minded priests in Asia's biggest Catholic nation who have abandoned their neutrality to oppose the presidential bid of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the late dictator's son and namesake, and openly endorse his closest rival Leni Robredo, whose team colour is pink.
Change Size
A Catholic nun flashes the "Laban" (fight) sign, a symbol of struggle against the then president Ferdinand Marcos, during celebrations to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the People Power revolution in Manila on February 25, 2019. The 1986 "People Power" movement toppled Marcos from power, sending his family into exile in Hawaii, where the strongman died three years later. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)
W
hen Philippine Catholic priest Father Nap Baltazar raised his hands to bless the people attending mass, the sleeves on his white vestment slid back to reveal a pink bracelet inscribed with the words "Let Leni Lead".
Baltazar, 47, belongs to a group of like-minded priests in Asia's biggest Catholic nation who have abandoned their neutrality to oppose the presidential bid of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the late dictator's son and namesake, and openly endorse his closest rival Leni Robredo, whose team colour is pink.
The presidential election is set for May 9, and latest opinion polls show Marcos, also known as "Bongbong", holds a double-digit lead over closest rival Robredo, while his running mate, Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, remained the top choice for the vice presidency.
"I will do everything I can to make sure he does not sit as president," Baltazar said of the 64-year old Marcos.
The priest, who says he has never before campaigned publicly for a politician since being ordained, drives a van adorned with an image of Robredo and the words "Pray and Choose Wisely. Your future depends on it" written in pink.
Back in 1986, the Catholic Church championed a "People Power" uprising that overthrew Marcos's father and drove his family to exile.
But now, Marcos Jr, a former congressman and senator, appears poised to clinch the presidency, following a decades-long political fight back by a family accused of leading one of Asia's most notorious kleptocracies.
