Cebu archbishop not casting vote on May 14

Saying he has a prior commitment in his home province, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal will not be casting his vote on Election Day, May 14. Sun-Star Cebu reported Monday that Vidal will celebrate a mass during the 200th anniversary of Mogpog village in Marinduque on May 15. "In time for the elections, I will be in Marinduque. If I come here (to vote), I cannot anymore go to Marinduque," he said. Vidal, a spiritual adviser of deposed President Joseph Estrada, is due to return to Cebu May 22. He was born in Marinduque, although he has served as Cebu archbishop since 1982. However, this did not stop Vidal from challenging his flock Sunday to continue praying and doing “divine deeds," including being watchful during the counting of votes. "Aspire for and strive to vote freely and have genuine peace during the campaign period and the counting of ballots," he said in the local dialect. Vidal even asked his flock to recite the "Oratio Imperata," a prayer that the Cebu archdiocese prepared for the coming electoral exercise. "Let us pray that candidates find joy in truly working for the Filipino people's better future; and that voters derive happiness from having a clear and clean conscience before, during, and after the May 14 elections," he said. Vidal said this is not the first time he would not be able to cast his vote. He said that in the 1998 presidential election, he was in Rome on Election Day. However, he us confident that despite his absence, there will be peaceful and clean elections in Cebu. "Cebuanos are very good people and intelligent voters," he said, citing the peaceful Holy Week celebration as an example. He said that while he worried about security concerns during the Holy Week because thousands of people were expected to gather in religious sites and churches, nothing untoward happened because of measures that authorities implemented. Besides, he said he has faith in the Citizens' Involvement and Maturation in People's Empowerment and Liberation (C-Cimpel) acting as election watchdog. Vidal chairs C-Cimpel, which has been serving as a local Church-backed watchdog since the early 1990s. - GMANews.TV