I write with joyful hope as we continue our nine-year journey together toward a Church fully alive. The love of God urges us to pursue the three pillars of this common endeavor—our need to know, to worship, and to witness our faith. This vision unites us, as the People of God, to live our faith more fully and more integrally.

We journey with unrelenting yet gentle evangelical vigor, knowing that God’s hope never disappoints (Romans 5:5).

So we choose God.

Our Christian faith must be witnessed in public. It must be seen in the way we live, in how we relate to others, and in how we work, serve, and love. Faith must move from the altar to the streets, from our chapels to our communities.

But we are not only believers; we are also citizens of an earthly city, walking alongside our fellow citizens. Good Christians must also strive to be good citizens and responsible public servants. By becoming more fully alive as believers, we contribute to “the social expression of the dignity recognized in every person,” which we call the common good.

Politics, at its best, is a call to promote the common good. It can be one of the highest forms of charity—a call to self-sacrificing love and service. Authentic engagement in politics can become a path to holiness as we help build the earthly city according to God’s justice and plan.

The Church does not replace the State in its pursuit of justice. But she “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice.” The Church contributes through rational reflection that opens minds, forms consciences, and awakens the spiritual energies necessary for the pursuit of justice. We do this primarily through the formation of conscience, a task proper to the mission and competence of the Church.

Moreover, “the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this one,” since human progress “can contribute to the better ordering of human society” and is therefore “of vital concern to the Kingdom of God.”

Sadly, the 30-year-old observation of the CBCP that “Philippine politics—the way it is practiced—has been most hurtful of us as a people…and the most pernicious obstacle to our achieving full human development” continues to be a challenge.

Let us turn to Paul’s First Letter to Timothy, his close companion, which connects correct belief with righteous living.

Paul begins by saying that “the aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).

Love

Politics calls for self-sacrificing love.

Corruption is the opposite of love, for it rejects the common good and exploits others for selfish gain. “Corruption” describes a “broken heart” (Latin, cor + rumpere) that, in turn, breaks other hearts. Hearts meant for God become broken when they turn away from Him, and wounded hearts can wound others (Genesis 3). And so the divisions and finger-pointing continue.

Vote-buying is an original sin of graft and corruption in our electoral culture. This grave evil is contrary to love because it manipulates and diminishes the freedom and dignity of voters. Public office then goes to the highest bidder, who seeks to recover—and even multiply—the money spent during the election. Others are drawn into the same system, creating structures of evil that become increasingly difficult to dismantle.

The cycle continues, eventually becoming a corruption that can even cost lives, as recent natural disasters painfully remind us. Corrupt leaders can also distort our values when they insist, contrary to Christian moral teaching, that the end justifies the means, even when fundamental human rights and human dignity are violated.

Beneath this political malaise is something deeply spiritual: “the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Timothy 6:10).

We need to recover our love of God and country. Patriotism calls for self-sacrificing love from each of us for the sake of our nation. Small but persistent acts of good citizenship—such as properly managing our garbage, caring for our communities, obeying just laws, and respecting the rights of others—when impelled by faith, lead to positive change over time.

Each of us has a role to play. Those who run for public office seek public trust. Those who cast their votes do so not only for themselves but also for their families, their communities, and generations yet to come.

Voting is a sacred act. Vote-buying desecrates this sacred act.

If receiving money but voting according to one’s conscience truly solved the problem, then vote-buying would have disappeared a long time ago. But it has not. The practice itself sustains a culture in which votes, public office, and ultimately the common good are treated as commodities for sale.

I Choose God is a long-term movement to form the conscience of our people according to the values of the Gospel and encourage them to vote wisely, but with a deeper mission: to inspire every Filipino to choose God in every aspect of life.

A Pure Heart

The heart—our inner person—is where the spiritual struggle underlying politics begins. It is where moral or immoral choices are made. A pure heart sees God (Matthew 5:8) by allowing one’s intellect and will to be formed according to the demands of God’s holiness.

This includes purity of intention that seeks to fulfill God’s will in everything. This orientation “holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future” as we “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 4:7–8; 6:11–12).

Purity demands discernment. We need to ask the right questions and allow ourselves to be transformed by God’s grace in our encounter with Jesus, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Why do we conduct elections? What are our underlying motives during elections? What actions contribute to the common good, and what actions diminish it? What pleases God, and what displeases Him? What sacrifices are my family, my community, and I called to offer for the common good?

Let us begin anew with a good examination of conscience. Let us pray for ourselves and for those in authority so that we may live in peace (1 Timothy 2:1–2). An Oratio Imperata for this intention shall be prayed every third Sunday.

A Good Conscience

In the depths of conscience, we hear the call to love and to do what is good and avoid evil. There, in the sanctuary of the human heart, God makes His law known to us. Infused with God’s love poured into our hearts through the Spirit within us (Romans 5:5), conscience bears witness to God’s law written within us (Romans 2:15).

But this voice must be carefully discerned from the many other voices competing for our attention.

The voice of despair tells us that Philippine politics is beyond God’s redemption and that it is useless even to try. Cynicism poisons our minds and hearts. Fatalism paralyzes us. Apathy blinds and weakens us. Presumption convinces us that we can create a better political life solely through our own powers. Meanwhile, the altars of money and power continue to make outrageous but alluring promises.

Bahala na, when understood negatively, can surrender human freedom to blind fate and separate faith from daily life. Impatience seeks instant results and dangerous shortcuts instead of respecting just and legal processes. Fanatical adherence to political personalities can become a form of idolatry and slavery.

Popularity, bandwagon thinking, and an excessive dependence on surveys can limit our God-given intelligence and freedom. Sophistry—the manipulative use of language—may attract and persuade, but it does not necessarily lead to truth. When conscience becomes erroneous and persistently refuses correction, a defiled conscience results (Titus 1:15); conscience becomes “seared” (1 Timothy 4:2) and increasingly unresponsive to truth.

Whenever we listen to political messages, social media, public personalities, or even those closest to us, we need to ask: Where is this message coming from, and where is it leading me? Is it leading me closer to truth, justice, love, and God—or away from them?

In this way, we “fight a good fight by having faith and a good conscience” (1 Timothy 1:18).

Families and Basic Ecclesial Communities should “strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and men” (Acts 24:16). This can be fostered through prayer, reflective reading of the Bible, honest conversation, and pastoral accompaniment.

We need to form circles of discernment in our parishes, as called for by the CBCP, where people can pray, listen, reflect, and support one another in making responsible moral and civic choices.

Our families and chapels must become resistant to vote-buying. Church and chapel organizations must never allow themselves to be used as instruments for vote-buying or partisan political machinery.

Sincere Faith

The light of faith is “capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence,” including our political and civic life. This flows from the biblical command: “Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).

Dear candidates: As we pray for you, remember that yours is a noble calling. Public service is a public trust, and “good works are also public” (1 Timothy 5:25). Can we focus on sharing a vision and a concrete program of action rather than buying votes? Can we focus on competence, integrity, character, and genuine service (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1–7)?

Dear young people: You are already the present, not merely the future. Saint Paul speaks directly to you: “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Do not surrender your conscience to social media, political personalities, trends, or algorithms. Use your intelligence. Seek the truth. Ask questions. Listen carefully. Pray. And have the courage to stand for what is right even when doing so is unpopular.

Dear faithful in Christ: Together, we can break the yoke of partisan and transactional politics. Change will not come from politicians alone. It must also begin in our homes, our families, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our parishes, and within our own hearts.

Through faith and action, we have the power to help bring about change.

Dear priests: You have received the “prophetic word with the imposition of hands” (1 Timothy 4:14–16). Our people look to you for leadership, accompaniment, and guidance. Let us form consciences without controlling them. Let us proclaim Gospel values without becoming partisan. Let us teach our people to discern rather than dictate to them whom they should choose.

Let us joyfully persevere in this work of contributing to the common good, always remembering that our ultimate mission is not to build the kingdom of any political personality, party, or ideology.

Our mission is to help build the Kingdom of God.

And so, when confronted with the choice between truth and falsehood, let us choose God.

When confronted with the choice between integrity and corruption, let us choose God.

When confronted with the choice between service and selfish interest, let us choose God.

When confronted with the choice between the common good and personal gain, let us choose God.

When we enter the voting booth, let us choose with a well-formed conscience.

And every day—in our homes, our workplaces, our communities, and our nation—

Let us choose God.

Most Rev. Alberto “Abet” Uy, DD
Archbishop of Cebu