The Roman Catholic Church has added its influential voice to campaigning ahead of next month's Philippine elections, appealing on churchgoers to shun inexperienced candidates in the May 10 vote.
"Elections are a crucial moment in our continuing task of nation-building. They're a timely opportunity to transform society by electing wise, capable and upright leaders," the country's Catholic Bishops Conference said in a letter.
Voters have a "right and duty" to "discern and choose candidates" based on the criteria of competence, conscience and program of government, the conference's president Archbishop Fernando Capalla said in the letter.
Although highly influential, leaders of the Southeast Asian nation's dominant Catholic church are not thought to have swung an election in the past with their endorsement.
President Gloria Arroyo, who is seeking a full six-year term after a three-year interim presidency, enjoys a slim margin in opinion polls ahead of the six-way electoral contest on May 10.
Legislative and local government posts are also at stake.
Arroyo has dismissed her main rival, the movie-star and high-school drop-out Fernando Poe, as an "inexperienced actor" who has no government program.
The Catholic Church was a key player in two bloodless popular revolts that eased out sitting presidents -- the late Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001.
Then vice president Arroyo took Estrada's place after he was drummed out of office amid a corruption scandal. Estrada has endorsed Poe.
The pastoral missive is to be read in all the country's churches on Sunday.
It asks churchgoers to judge candidates on their competence, conscience, and commitment to issues including the family, the environment, illegal drugs and gambling, justice, peace and order and poverty alleviation.
Capalla said "the vigilance and concerted action of ordinary citizens would be the first guarantee of maintaining honest, orderly and peaceful elections."
He also called on the faithful to condemn "corruption in its various forms" including "vote-buying and vote-selling", extortion of political candidates by communist guerrillas, and "misuse of public funds."
Meanwhile, two political campaign officials were killed and a bus set on fire in mounting violence ahead of next month's vote, officials said Thursday.
The latest attacks occurred Monday in the north, where the campaign manager of an opposition mayoral candidate and a political leader of the incumbent mayor were gunned down in separate attacks in the town of Bangued.
A passenger bus was also set fire by suspected communist rebels near the northern town of Sison late Monday, police said. No one was injured in the attack.
According to a nationwide police tally, 71 people have been slain in election-related violence since December, surpassing the 64 deaths in the last presidential election in 1998.
Arroyo has ordered increased police security for candidates, especially those targeted by communist guerrillas.