Eduardo Cruz Villanueva (born October 6, 1946), most commonly referred to as "Bro. Eddie Villanueva", is an evangelist and president-founder of the Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW). Villanueva was previously a communist- atheist, radical activist, and street parliamentarian. During

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

, he was imprisoned twice for fighting alongside the oppressed for their rights against land grabbing syndicates. Villanueva is also the founder of the Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM), which has more than forty bishops from different Christian churches nationwide as members. Villanueva was a presidential candidate in the 2004 and

2010 Philippine elections Elections for all positions in the Philippines above the barangay (except for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional level) were held on May 10, 2010. The elected president is Benigno Aquino III, the 15th President of the Philippines, s ...

and a senatorial candidate in the 2013 midterm Philippine elections, all as the standard bearer of the

Bangon Pilipinas Party Bangon Pilipinas Party (BPP, ) or Bangon is a political party in the Philippines, formed in 2004 as the Bangon Pilipinas Movement. It is the political vehicle of its leader, televangelist Eddie Villanueva. Villanueva ran for president on 2004 ...

. Villanueva is a radio-TV evangelist owning

ZOE Broadcasting Network ZOE Broadcasting Network, Inc. (ZOE TV) is a Philippine broadcast media arm of the Jesus Is Lord Church. Based in Ortigas Center, Pasig, it operates a network of television and radio stations each in Mega Manila, Puerto Princesa City, Visay ...

, a commercial television and radio broadcasting station which owns VHF Channel 11 (A2Z) and UHF Channel 33 (Light TV). He is also the owner and founder of the Jesus Is Lord Colleges Foundation, Inc. (JILCF), a Christian school in

Bocaue, Bulacan Bocaue, officially the Municipality of Bocaue ( tgl, Bayan ng Bocaue), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 141,412 people. With the continuous expansion of Met ...

, where his wife, Adoracion Villanueva is the school president. He is currently a member of the 19th Congress of the Philippines and has been a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 18th Congress.

Early life

Villanueva was born on October 6, 1946 in Bocaue, Bulacan to parents Joaquin Villanueva and Maria Cruz. Joaquin Villanueva was a former Olympic sprinter who represented the Philippines in the Far Eastern Games for four consecutive years in 1920s.

Education

In 1969, Villanueva graduated with a degree in commerce, majoring in economics, from the Philippine College of Commerce (PCC), since renamed the

Polytechnic University of the Philippines , mottoeng = ''Light of the Nation'' , type = Public coeducational research higher education institution , established = October 19, 1904 , closed = , religious_affiliation = ...

. He was immersed in both student and labor movements in the 1970s, joining the progressive segments of society which opposed Marcos' dictatorship. Villanueva also took up law at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

but was already into so much activism that he never had time to take the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...

. During Martial law, he fought local landgrabbers in Bulacan and ended up being jailed twice for his political beliefs and participation in various mass actions. He worked as a full-time faculty member in the Economics and Finance Department of PCC until 1972. He then worked as the export manager of Maran Export Industries in 1973 and from 1976 to 1977, he was the general manager of the Agape Trading Co. He returned to PCC, now renamed, in 1978 as a part-time professor.

Religious involvement

According to their church's website, Villanueva claimed to have "had a life-changing encounter with the Lord in 1973 while at the forefront of a leftist movement". At that time, he was also leading his family (and other families) in his home province of Bulacan in an uphill, protracted legal battle as he himself became a victim of a notorious land-grabbing syndicate. Five days after that "dramatic encounter with God", Villanueva was brought face to face with a miracle he could never forget: the land-grabbers were arrested and detained. On October 5, 1978, Villanueva founded the Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide formerly named Jesus Is Lord Fellowship, "which started with just 15 members from his Bible studies". In 2007, JIL stated it had "over five million members today in 18 cities in Metro Manila, 80 provinces in the Philippines and 60 countries in the world. Most members abroad are overseas Filipino workers and their families."

On homosexuality

Villanueva is against

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

; he said in an interview, "According to the Bible, don't imitate what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah because judgment will befall on the country if it's done".

Political career

2004 presidential bid

Villanueva campaigned in the

2004 Philippine presidential election 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky in many East Asian c ...

. Despite the polls done by

Social Weather Stations The Social Weather Stations or SWS is a social research institution in the Philippines founded in August 1985. It is a private, non-stock, nonprofit institution. It is the foremost public-opinion polling body in the Philippines. As an independent ...

and

Pulse Asia Pulse Asia Research Inc. is a public opinion polling body in the Philippines. It was founded by Professor Emeritus Felipe B. Miranda (M.A. Political Science, University of Chicago) of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Pulse Asia Inc. wa ...

showing him trailing among the four contenders, Villanueva was confident that he would win the elections saying that "''this is why we do not believe in the surveys of the two companies that are usually commissioned by political parties here — because the more than three million human bodies (at my rally) can indicate the real results of the survey.''"

2010 presidential bid

Villanueva ran again for the 2010 presidential election where he lost for the second time; he finished fifth out of nine presidential candidates with 1,125,878 votes or 3.12% of the total votes.

2013 Senate bid

Villanueva ran for a Senate seat in 2013 as a standalone candidate of Bangon Pilipinas. However, he lost, finishing 19th out of the 12 seats up for election with 6,932,985 votes.

Awards and recognitions

Villanueva was ordained Minister of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1979 by the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

-based Victory in Christ Church and International Ministries. He has also been conferred the office of Episcopacy by the Sectarian Body of Christ in the Philippines in April 1996. Two months later, Villanueva received the Gintong Ama (Golden Father) award for Socio-Civic/Religious Sector from the Golden Mother and Father Foundation in June 1996. In February 2001, Villanueva received the

EDSA Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or citie ...

People Power Freedom Award for ZOE TV 11 for its fair coverage of the People Power II movement. He founded and owns ZOE Broadcasting Network Inc. and operates Channel 11 on Filipino television. Bro. Eddie hosts three ZOE programs, ''Diyos at Bayan'', ''PJM (Philippines for Jesus Movement) Forum'' and ''Jesus The Healer''.

Personal life

He is married to Sis. Adoracion "Dory" Villanueva (died March 10, 2020) and they have four children. His eldest son, Eduardo "Jon-Jon" Villanueva, Jr., is the incumbent mayor of Bocaue, Bulacan. Jonjon was charged with murder for allegedly ordering the shooting of a soldier of the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...

during the May 2007 elections. His other son, Sen.

Emmanuel Joel Villanueva Emmanuel Joel Jose Villanueva (, born August 2, 1975), nicknamed "Tesdaman", is a Filipino politician serving as the Senate Majority Leader since 2022 and has been a Senator since 2016. He previously served as the Director General of the Tech ...

, is currently a Senator,

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

, and became the youngest member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

when he took his oath of office as a representative of the CIBAC partylist on February 6, 2002. According to the

Philippine Star ''The Philippine Star'' (self-styled ''The Philippine STAR'') is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists Betty Go-Belmonte, ...

, Joel Villanueva was the fifth richest party-list congressman with a net worth of .Bro. Mike's rep is richest party-list lawmaker, Philippine Star
June 7, 2009 His daughter, Joni Villanueva-Tugna, was a Christian singer, TV host, and Mayor of Bocaue from July 2016 until her death on May 28, 2020. She was married to

Sherwin Tugna Sherwin Najito Tugna (born October 15, 1977) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the vice mayor of Bocaue, Bulacan. He previously served as a representative for the Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party-list group from ...

, a former CIBAC partylist representative. His other daughter, Edelisha Jovi, is an educator.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villanueva, Eddie 1946 births Living people Candidates in the 2010 Philippine presidential election Candidates in the 2004 Philippine presidential election Filipino television evangelists Filipino Pentecostals Filipino anti-abortion activists People from Bulacan Marcos martial law victims Former atheists and agnostics Bangon Pilipinas politicians RPN News and Public Affairs people GMA News and Public Affairs people 20th-century Filipino economists Polytechnic University of the Philippines alumni University of the Philippines alumni Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines for Citizens' Battle Against Corruption Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines