Iglesia ni Cristo and Philippine elections

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is noted for its role in elections in the Philippines.

Bloc voting

The Iglesia ni Cristo is known for its practice of bloc voting during elections.^[1][2][3] The INC is known for issuing directives to vote for certain candidates endorsed by the church under the tenet of obedience and the advocacy of a united unit.^[1] INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala has stressed the importance of unity of its members with the church leadership.^[4] As a consequence, candidates often attempt to secure endorsement from the INC.^[5]

According to pollster Mahar Mangahas, the INC usually announces its endorsements around a week before election day "when the rankings of the candidates in the polls have stabilized" and concludes that candidates' ranking in opinion polls are a factor on how the INC chooses candidates to support.^[5]

Many of its critics including Edu Manzano, who ran for vice mayor in 1998 (won) and mayor in 2001 (lost) in Makati said that letting the people decide of election rather than of a vote bloc endorsement is better. In both instances Iglesia endorsed his opponents Ernesto Mercado in 1998, and MMDA Chairman Jejomar Binay in 2001.^[6] Also, Gwendolyn Garcia in 2007 berated some church officials and accusing them of "endorsement for sale", as Garcia's opponents were endorsed.^[7]

Endorsements (nationally-elected candidates)

The following is the list of candidates who have been elected by the Iglesia ni Cristo. The list is limited to candidates running for president, vice president, and senators.

President

Year	Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1935	1.	Manuel Quezon		Nacionalista	695,332	67.99	Won	[3]
1941	1.	Manuel Quezon		Nacionalista	1,340,320	81.78	Won	[3]
1946	1.	Manuel Roxas		Liberal	1,333,392	53.94	Won	[3]
1949	3.	Jose Avelino		Liberal	419,890	11.85	Lost	[3]
1961	1.	Diosdado Macapagal		Liberal	3,554,840	55.05	Won	[3]
1965	1.	Ferdinand Marcos		Nacionalista	3,861,324	51.94	Won	[3]
1969	1.	Ferdinand Marcos		Nacionalista	5,017,343	61.47	Won	[3]
1981	1.	Ferdinand Marcos		KBL	18,309,360	88.02	Won	[3]
1986	1.	Ferdinand Marcos		KBL	10,807,197	53.62	Won	[3]
1992	3.	Danding Cojuangco		NPC	4,116,376	18.17	Lost	[8]
1998	1.	Joseph Estrada		LAMMP	10,722,295	39.86	Won	[9]
2004	1.	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo		Lakas	12,905,808	39.99	Won	[10][11]
2010	1.	Benigno Aquino III		Liberal	15,208,678	42.08	Won	[12][13]
2016	1.	Rodrigo Duterte		PDP–Laban	16,601,997	39.02	Won	[14][15]
2022	1.	Bongbong Marcos		PFP	31,629,783	58.77	Won	[16][17]

Vice President

Year	Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1992	1.	Joseph Estrada		NPC	6,739,738	33.01	Won	[18]
1998	1.	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo		Lakas	12,667,252	49.56	Won	[9]
2004	1.	Noli de Castro		Independent	15,100,431	49.80	Won	[11]
2010	2.	Mar Roxas		Liberal	13,918,490	39.58	Lost	[12][13]
2016	2.	Bongbong Marcos		Independent	14,155,344	34.47	Lost	[14][15]
2022	1.	Sara Duterte		Lakas	32,208,417	61.53	Won	[16][17]

Senators

1995

The following list is incomplete, but endorsed 7 candidates from Lakas–Laban Coalition, and 5 candidates from Nationalist People's Coalition.^[19]

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
5.	Juan Flavier		Lakas		LABAN	10,748,528	41.76	Won	[19]
6.	Miriam Defensor Santiago		PRP		NPC	9,497,231	36.90	Won
9.	Gringo Honasan		Independent		NPC	8,968,616	34.853	Won
15.	Bongbong Marcos		KBL		NPC	8,168,768	31.74	Lost

2001

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1.	Noli de Castro		Independent		Independent[a]	16,237,386	55.09	Won	[20]
2	Juan Flavier		Lakas		PPC	11,735,897	39.82	Won
3.	Serge Osmeña		PDP–Laban		PPC	11,593,389	39.33	Won
4.	Franklin Drilon		Independent		PPC	11,301,700	38.34	Won
5.	Joker Arroyo		Lakas		PPC	11,262,402	38.21	Won
6.	Jun Magsaysay		Liberal		PPC	11,250,677	38.17	Won
7.	Manny Villar		Independent		PPC	11,187,375	37.96	Won
8.	Kiko Pangilinan		Liberal		PPC	10,971,896	37.23	Won
9.	Ed Angara		LDP		PnM	10,805,177	36.66	Won
10.	Panfilo Lacson		LDP		PnM	10,535,559	35.74	Won
11.	Loi Ejercito		Independent		PnM	10,524,130	35.71	Won
12.	Ralph Recto		Lakas		PPC	10,480,940	35.56	Won
15.	Miriam Defensor Santiago		PRP		PnM	9,622,742	32.65	Lost

2004

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1.	Mar Roxas		Liberal		K4	19,372,888	54.56	Won	[21]
2	Bong Revilla		Lakas		K4	15,801,531	44.50	Won
3.	Nene Pimentel		PDP–Laban		KNP	13,519,998	38.07	Won
4.	Jamby Madrigal		LDP		KNP	13,253,692	37.32	Won
7.	Miriam Defensor Santiago		PRP		K4	12,187,401	34.32	Won
8.	Alfredo Lim		PMP		KNP	11,286,428	31.78	Won
9.	Juan Ponce Enrile		PMP		KNP	11,191,162	31.52	Won
10.	Jinggoy Estrada		PMP		KNP	11,094,120	31.24	Won
12.	Rodolfo Biazon		Liberal		K4	10,635,270	29.95	Won
13.	Robert Barbers		Lakas		K4	10,624,585	29.92	Lost
14.	Ernesto Maceda		NPC		KNP	9,944,328	28.00	Lost
15.	John Henry Osmeña		NPC		K4	9,914,179	27.92	Lost

2007

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1	Loren Legarda		NPC		GO	18,501,734	62.72	Won	[22]
2	Chiz Escudero		NPC		GO	18,265,307	61.92	Won
3	Ping Lacson		UNO		GO	15,509,188	52.58	Won
4	Manny Villar		Nacionalista		GO	15,338,412	52.00	Won
5	Kiko Pangilinan		Liberal		Independent	14,534,678	49.27	Won
6	Noynoy Aquino		Liberal		GO	14,309,349	48.51	Won
7	Ed Angara		LDP		TEAM Unity	12,657,769	42.91	Won
8	Joker Arroyo		KAMPI		TEAM Unity	11,803,107	40.01	Won
12	Migz Zubiri[b]		Lakas		TEAM Unity	11,005,866	37.31	Won
14	Ralph Recto		Lakas		TEAM Unity	10,721,252	36.34	Lost
14	Mike Defensor		Lakas		TEAM Unity	9,938,995	33.69	Lost
19	Tito Sotto		NPC		TEAM Unity	7,638,361	25.89	Lost

2010

Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1.	Bong Revilla		Lakas	19,513,521	51.15	Won	[23]
2.	Jinggoy Estrada		PMP	18,925,925	49.61	Won
3.	Miriam Defensor Santiago		PRP	17,344,742	45.47	Won
4.	Franklin Drilon		Liberal	15,871,117	41.60	Won
5.	Juan Ponce Enrile		PMP	15,665,618	41.06	Won
6.	Pia Cayetano		Nacionalista	13,679,511	35.86	Won
7.	Bongbong Marcos		Nacionalista	13,169,634	34.52	Won
8.	Ralph Recto		Liberal	12,436,960	32.60	Won
9.	Tito Sotto		NPC	11,891,711	31.17	Won
11.	Lito Lapid		Lakas	11,025,805	28.90	Won
12.	TG Guingona		Liberal	10,277,352	26.94	Won
16.	Ruffy Biazon		Liberal	8,626,514	22.61	Lost

2013

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1	Grace Poe		Independent		Team PNoy	20,337,327	50.66	Won	[24]
2	Loren Legarda		NPC		Team PNoy	18,661,196	46.49	Won
3	Alan Peter Cayetano		Nacionalista		Team PNoy	17,580,813	43.79	Won
5	Nancy Binay		UNA		UNA	16,812,148	41.88	Won
6	Sonny Angara		LDP		Team PNoy	16,005,564	39.87	Won
7	Bam Aquino		Liberal		Team PNoy	15,534,465	38.70	Won
9	Sonny Trillanes		Nacionalista		Team PNoy	14,127,722	35.19	Won
10	Cynthia Villar		Nacionalista		Team PNoy	13,822,854	34.43	Won
11	JV Ejercito		PMP		UNA	13,684,736	34.09	Won
12	Gringo Honasan		Independent		UNA	13,211,424	32.91	Won
13	Dick Gordon		Bagumbayan		UNA	12,501,991	31.14	Lost
15	Jack Enrile		NPC		UNA	11,543,024	28.75	Lost

2016

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1	Franklin Drilon		Liberal		KDM	18,607,391	41.37	Won	[25]
2	Joel Villanueva		Liberal		KDM	18,459,222	41.04	Won
3	Tito Sotto		NPC		PGP	17,200,371	38.24	Won
4	Panfilo Lacson		Independent		KDM	16,926,152	37.63	Won
5	Richard "Dick" Gordon		Independent		PGP	16,719,322	37.17	Won
6	Migz Zubiri		Independent		PGP	16,119,165	35.84	Won
7	Manny Pacquiao		UNA		UNA	16,050,546	35.68	Won
9	Risa Hontiveros		Akbayan		KDM	15,915,213	35.38	Won
10	Sherwin Gatchalian		NPC		PGP	14,953,768	33.25	Won
11	Ralph Recto		Liberal		KDM	14,271,868	31.73	Won
13	Francis Tolentino		Independent		PRP	12,811,098	28.48	Lost
15	Martin Romualdez		Lakas		PRP	12,325,824	27.40	Lost

2019

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1.	Cynthia Villar		Nacionalista		Hugpong	25,283,727	53.46	Won	[26]
2	Grace Poe		Independent		Independent	22,029,788	46.58	Won
3.	Bong Go		PDP–Laban		Hugpong	20,657,702	43.68	Won
4.	Pia Cayetano		Nacionalista		Hugpong	19,789,019	41.84	Won
5.	Ronald dela Rosa		PDP–Laban		Hugpong	19,004,225	40.18	Won
6.	Sonny Angara		LDP		Hugpong	18,161,862	38.40	Won
7.	Lito Lapid		NPC		NPC	16,965,464	35.87	Won
8.	Imee Marcos		Nacionalista		Hugpong	15,882,628	33.58	Won
9.	Francis Tolentino		PDP–Laban		Hugpong	15,510,026	32.79	Won
11.	Bong Revilla		Lakas		Hugpong	14,624,445	30.92	Won
12.	Nancy Binay		UNA		UNA	14,504,936	30.67	Won
15.	Jinggoy Estrada		PMP		Hugpong	11,359,305	24.02	Lost

2022

Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1.	Robin Padilla		PDP–Laban	27,027,235	48.23	Won	[27]
2.	Loren Legarda		NPC	24,367,564	43.48	Won
4.	Win Gatchalian		NPC	20,678,804	36.89	Won
5.	Francis Escudero		NPC	20,320,069	36.26	Won
6.	Mark Villar		Nacionalista	19,563,262	34.91	Won
7.	Alan Peter Cayetano		Independent	19,359,758	34.54	Won
8.	Migz Zubiri		Independent	18,931,207	33.78	Won
9.	Joel Villanueva		Independent	18,539,537	33.08	Won
11.	JV Ejercito		NPC	15,901,891	28.37	Won
12.	Jinggoy Estrada		PMP	15,174,288	27.08	Won
13.	Jejomar Binay		UNA	13,348,887	23.82	Lost
16.	Guillermo Eleazar		Reporma	11,360,526	20.27	Lost

2025

Only 8 candidates are endorsed by the sect:

Rank	Candidate	Party		Coalition		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1	Bong Go		PDP		DuterTen	27,121,073	6.33	Won	[28]
2	Bam Aquino		KANP		KiBam	20,971,899	4.89	Won
3	Ronald dela Rosa		PDP		DuterTen	20,773,946	4.85	Won
6	Rodante Marcoleta		Independent		DuterTen	15,250,723	3.56	Won
9	Pia Cayetano		Nacionalista		Alyansa	14,573,430	3.40	Won
10	Camille Villar		Nacionalista		Alyansa[c]	13,651,274	3.19	Won
12	Imee Marcos		Nacionalista		Independent[c][d]	13,339,227	3.11	Won
14	Bong Revilla		Lakas		Alyansa	12,027,845	2.81	Lost

Endorsements on local executives

The following are those endorsed in local elections by the sect:

Manila

Mayor

Year	Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
2019	1.	Isko Moreno		Asenso	357,925	50.15	Won	[29]
2022	1.	Honey Lacuna		Asenso	538,595	63.68	Won	[30]
2025	1.	Isko Moreno		Aksyon	530,825	59.02%	Won	[31]

Vice Mayor

Year	Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
2019	1.	Honey Lacuna		Asenso	394,766	57.28	Won	[29]
2022	1.	Yul Servo		Asenso	586,855	73.67	Won	[30]
2025	1.	Chi Atienza		Aksyon	584,145	66.65%	Won	[31]

Makati

Mayor

Year	Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
2001	1.	Jejomar Binay		PDP–Laban	137,030	65.49	Won	[32]
2025	2.	Luis Campos		NPC	85,664	41.97	Lost

Vice Mayor

Year	Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Result	Ref.
1998	2.	Ernesto S. Mercado		PDP–Laban	100,894	38.95	Lost	[32]
2001	1.	Ernesto S. Mercado		PDP–Laban	115,696	56.97	Won	[32]
2025	1.	Kid Peña		NPC	146,771	73.00	Won

Notes

1. Guest candidate of Puwersa ng Masa
2. Migz Zubiri was later removed from office in favor of Koko Pimentel who won an election protest.
3. Guest candidates of DuterTen
4. Originally ran with Alyansa prior to her withdrawal on March 26