An influential Christian sect known to vote as a bloc and considered a kingmaker in Philippine politics has given its endorsement to President Gloria Arroyo, reports said on Sunday.
Mrs Arroyo who promises to regain the confidence of international investors if re-elected on May 10, is banking on her political and economic experience to beat rival Fernando Poe. -- AFP
The Iglesia ni Cristo, literally Church of Christ, which commands at least one million of the the country's 43 million voters, would also vote for six of Mrs Arroyo's senatorial candidates and six from the opposition, reports said.
The Philippine Star reported that sample ballots to be distributed on Sunday during the sect's worship services showed Mrs Arroyo and her running-mate Noli de Castro as their choices for the May 10 vote.
Another newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said the sect was to make an official announcement of its choice on Monday.
It added that detained ex-president Joseph Estrada, the de facto head of the opposition, has been made aware of the decision.
Latest opinion polls put Mrs Arroyo at a 4.5 point lead over her rival and film star Fernando Poe.
The sect was founded in 1914 by Felix Manalo, a disaffected former member of the Seventh Day Adventists.
Recruiting mostly from the working classes, the ministry has several million adherents and has even expanded abroad, spread by the country's large overseas work force.
Politicians, especially those running for the presidency, have traditionally sought the church's backing. Mrs Arroyo herself has said the sect helped her top the senatorial race in 1992 and again in 1995.