FALSE: Villegas says not voting Otso Diretso 'betrays' God

A Facebook post that went viral quotes Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas as having supposedly urged the public to vote for the opposition slate in the 2019 senatorial elections.

Facebook page Sa Ngalan Ng Gobyerno posted the claim on March 6, 2019 with a caption that read, ‘If you don't vote for Otso Diretso, you will betray God.’

This is false. In a video on his official Facebook page, the archbishop urged Catholics not to betray God by their vote, but he did not specifically endorse Otso Diretso or any specific candidate.

The video was a compilation of clips of President Rodrigo Duterte's tirades against God and criticisms against the Church. At the end of the video, Villegas said: "The Lord said, 'Are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?' My dear brothers and sisters, are you going to betray God, are you going to deny your faith, by your vote?"

The video is still on his page, but is restricted to "friends only."

Read the full fact-check article on Rappler.com.

___________________________________________________________________

The views and information in ‘Tsek.ph’ are those of their respective authors and owners and do not reflect the official policy or position of the media and academic partners of Tsek.ph.