In preparation for the elections that will be held on May 13th, Catholics in the Philippines have organized themselves in The White Vote Movement, a forum composed of approximately forty associations and lay organizations, led by Brother Velarde, leader of the Catholic charismatic group Laiko. This forum intends to support electoral candidates in the defense of respect for life and the human person, in favor of the centrality of the family, who are working to keep the so-called “Reproductive Health Bill” (Rh Bill) from being applied. This law, which considers abortion as a means of birth control, should have become effective on March 31st, but the Supreme Court of the Philippines suspended it after having received numerous accusations of unconstitutionality of a measure of erroneous and immoral policy to limit births because of the widespread mistaken opinion that population growth is the cause of economic poverty in the country.
 
 
In recent days, in Manila, there was a major demonstration in favor of pro-life and pro-family candidates that gathered more than 500,000 people, dressed in white, the color that «symbolizes purity, innocence, unity, solidarity, a new beginning», says Ligaya Acosta, coordinator of Human Life International in the Philippines.
 
In a pastoral letter, Msgr. Socrates Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen Dagupan, wrote: «We must pray that the Lord of history guide every voter and guide every candidate in the forthcoming exercise of civil responsibility. It is only the Lord who can give us peace during elections. It is only God who can enlighten us in our decision making so that the voice of the people can truly reflect the voice of God». The vote, then, must be guided by the «eyes of faith» and «the mind enlightened by the values of the Gospel». The White Vote Movement aims to «forge a voting bloc that represents the actual values of the Filipino people».