Presidentiables asked to keep campaign ‘dignified’

There was no politics discussed when the three leading presidential candidates – Vice President Jejomar Binay, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and Senator Grace Poe – came to meet Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle at the Arsobispo de Manila in Intramuros Monday night.

“The program was simple: evening prayer, dinner, meditation on humble servant leadership in the Bible and role of servant leaders in promoting the common good. No political discussion,” Tagle said in a statement.

His Eminence said the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) organized the activity “as part of pastoral care not only of voters but also of potential candidates.”

The PPCRV is a church-backed poll watchdog group.

Henrietta de Villa, PPCRV chairperson earlier revealed that, during the closed-door meeting, Tagle reminded the three potential candidates for president in the May 2016 polls to bring a new sense of dignity to campaigning by maintaining a friendly air among them.

“The Cardinal told them to give a new sense of dignity to campaigning,” she said in an interview.

“The Cardinal reminded them we hope even when the rigors of the campaign reached fever pitch that kind of atmosphere, that kind of interaction among the three of them will remain so that the level of the campaign would be elevated, people also look for something like this,” added De Villa.

She also said that there was “an atmosphere of friendship” among Binay, Roxas and Poe.

“We prayed together. How nice,” she said.