THE Church has the constitutional right to freely choose its candidates for the 2019 midterm elections, Malacañang said Tuesday, April 16.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace respects the Church's non-endorsement of senatorial candidates running under the administration-allied ticket Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), a regional party led by presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

"The Philippines is a free and democratic country, where everybody can endorse anybody running for public office, except those public officers and government employees holding non-political offices as their intervention in any election campaign or engagement in a partisan political activity is prohibited under the law," he said in a statement released late Tuesday night, April 16.

"In general, an endorsement of a candidate from an endorser means that the latter is impressed with the credentials of the former. Other endorsements are based on kinship, friendship, alliance, indebtedness (utang na loob), investment for future favors, fondness, admiration or any combination of the foregoing," he added.

His statement came after the People's Choice Movement (PCM), an inter-faith group composed of over 100 lay leaders, endorsed 10 senatorial candidates who they believe will be "servant-leaders."

Some 120 Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelist leaders from PCM picked the eight candidates of the "Otso Diretso" opposition slate, former Bayan Muna representative Neri Colmenares, and re-electionist senator Grace Poe.

Candidates from the opposition include former Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, re-electionist Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Magdalo party-list Representative Gary Alejano, former solicitor general Florin Hilbay, former lawmaker Erin Tañada, veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, and Maranao civic leader Samira Gutoc.

Panelo said that despite the endorsement, the electorate have the final say who among the senatorial candidates are deserving to take a seat the Senate.

"Candidates normally welcome endorsements coming from influential persons or groups," the Palace official said.

"In this case, we deem it best to leave the endorsement of the Church to the candidates themselves as well leave it the electorate as to how they will look or treat the same," he added. (SunStar Philippines)