Senator Grace Poe denies that her visit to the Iglesia ni Cristo was intended to court the sect's bloc vote for the upcoming elections. Instead, Poe stated that it was a 'reach out' effort to various groups and sectors to present her platform of government.
Poe has been rumored to have been courting the INC vote, which boasts of a 3-million strong membership all over the Philippines. The INC is known for releasing a sample ballot to all its members during the last service before election day, said to contain the names of national and local officials they are endorsing.
Recently, however, controversy rocked the INC and its normally secretive ways when some members cried harassment by top leaders, resulting in a split between the Manalo family. Poe has been criticized for pandering to the INC to get its endorsement, most notably during the massive three-day gridlock caused by an INC protest along EDSA and Shaw Boulevard in August last year.
