Could “religious votes” bring a “religious man” to the Philippine presidency?

In the run up to the May 10 presidential elections, the only son of the Philippines' icon of democracy, the late President Corazon Aquino, did something no one else in Philippine politics had ever done.

Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III disappeared on a spiritual retreat in a Carmelite monastery to “seek God’s will” on whether he should run for president.

The monestary had been a favorite refuge for the late president whenever she needed “spiritual advice” on pressing matters. So it was a natural location for her son - a reluctant potential president who had lived most of his life in the shadow of his parents’ legacy - to go to seek direction.

Shortly after the death of Corazon Aquino in August, 2009, Noynoy suddenly found himself pressured to run.  Though a sitting Senator, Noynoy was a political novice compared with other experienced politicians pursuing the most powerful seat of the land and who had already started their political campaigns.

Noynoy's friends nudged him toward the presidential race. But it was the overflowing love, prayers and support that thousands of Filipinos gave his mother from the time she was reported to be terminally ill until she succumbed to colon cancer, that had the greatest impact.

The national swell culminated in a sea of yellow clothes and yellow ribbons flooding the streets of metro Manila during the late President’s wake and burial march.

As observers and commentators described the Aquino ceremonies, “it was like reliving “Edsa I” all over again. Political figures and media personalities mourned “the loss of their last hope for a better country" and an escape from corruption.

Despite the public outpouring of support, Noynoy was torn between comforting his four sisters with their mother’s loss and “continuing with a struggle” his parents “lived and died for.”

He was himself tired from the week-long wake and wanted more time to grieve for his departed mother. But decisions had to be made soon.

Thus, the retreat.

Before he embarked on his “spiritual journey,” the Senator asked for the public's support. 

"As I pray for discernment and divine guidance, I urge you to pray with me so that you too can assess your own readiness to take part in the difficult struggle ahead. We are in this together,” Noynoy said at the press conference.

But the retreat was branded by Malacañang (the Philippines’ seat of power) as a “political gimmickry.” Presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez said the exercise is nothing more than “political strategy” in preparation for a run for the presidency.

Noynoy the Candidate

A lot of Filipinos, especially the Catholic clergy, disagree with Golez.