MANILA - Several senatorial aspirants joined some 80,000 members of the Jesus Is Lord Church during its 40th anniversary celebration on Saturday.
Among the guests at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila were reelectionists Cynthia Villar and JV Ejercito and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal.
The JIL is led by television evangelist Eddie Villanueva, who ran for president twice. Villanueva's son, Joel Villanueva, is at the midpoint of his first six-year term at the Senate.
"We have a duty to pray for those in authority," the younger Villanueva said during the Saturday event.
The elder Villanueva prayed for forgiveness, healing and blessings, after a nearly 2-hour message. He also recounted praying for President Rodrigo Duterte when he was still Davao City mayor.
The elder Villanueva is the first nominee of the Citizen's Battle Against Corruption party list.
Singer Gary Valenciano also attended the celebration, sharing a testimony about surviving cancer this year. He also danced to his gospel hits "Shout for Joy" and "Sayaweh".
religion, Jesus Is Lord, politics, 2019 elections, halalan2019, Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito, Romulo Macalintal, Joel Villanueva, Eddie Villanueva