The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) church is considered as one of the most popular religious organization in the country not only because of their huge number of followers but because of their alleged block voting preference during national elections.
Starting from the 1935 national presidential elections, the powerful INC supported national candidates until the last presidential elections wherein Pres. Aquino won as President with the support of the INC.
Listed below are the names of political figures who sought the help of the powerful religious endorsement for their political gains. Only few presidential candidates were able to win against an INC supported political figure.
Here’s the List of Philippine Presidents Supported by INC:
1. President Manuel L. Quezon: 1935 and 1941 Elections
President Manuel L. Quezon earned 695,332 votes and won over his opponents, former President Emilio Aguinaldo, cleric Gregorio Aglipay and Pascual Racuyal during the 1935 elections while in 1941 he defeated challengers Juan Sumulong & Hilario Moncado with 1,340,320 votes.
2. Manuel Roxas: 1946 Election
Manuel Roxas defeated former President Sergio Osmena and Hilario Moncado with 1,333,392 votes.
3. Ramon Magsaysay: 1953 Elections
There is no information on who the Iglesia ni Cristo supported in the 1953 elections but most political analysts presumed that INC supported Pres. Ramon Magsaysay as he got 2,912,99 votes defeating re-electionist Elpido Quirino and Gaudencio Bueno.
4. Carlos P. Garcia: 1957 Elections
There is no information on who the Iglesia ni Cristo supported in the 1957 elections but Carlos P. Garcia received 2,070,257 votes probably because of the support of the INC.
5. Diosdado Macapagal: 1961 Elections
Pres. Diosdado Macapagal got the support of the powerful INC as he won to serve as president from 1961 to 1965, despite the fact the he reportedly refused the endorsement of the INC. He won with 3,554,840 votes defeating Pres. Carlos P. Garcia.
6. Ferdinand Marcos: 1965, 1969, 1981 Elections
In the 1965 elections, Marcos won with 3,861,324 votes; in 1969 he won again with 5,017,343 votes and in 1981 he earned 18,309,360 votes one of the highest presidential election results in terms of the number of voters.
7. Danding Cojuangco – 1992 Elections
Former senator Danding Cojuangco was supported by the INC but he was lost to President Fidel V. Ramos who served from 1992-1998. During the elections Ramos got 5,342,521 votes, while Cojuangco earned 4,116,376.
8. Joseph Estrada – 1998 Elections
Pres. Erap Estrada won with 8,239,823 against Jose De Venecia, Raul Roco, Emilio Osmena, Alfredo Lim, Renato de Villa, Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Juan Ponce Enrile.
9. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo: 2004 Elections
INC supported Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who received 12,905,808 votes against his closest contender Fernando Poe Jr. who got 11,782,232 votes.
10. Benigno S. Aquino: 2010 Elections
The powerful INC endorsed the candidacy of Benigno Simeon Aquino III, who served as President since the year 2010. During the election Pres. Aquino won with 15,208,678 votes.
