Eduardo C. Villanueva (born October 6, 1946), known as Brother Eddie, is a religious and political leader in the Philippines and a presidential candidate in the 2010 Philippine election as standard bearer of the Bangon Pilipinas Party. Prior to joining the politics, he is best known as the founder and leader of the Jesus Is Lord Church but officially declared his leave of absence as its Spiritual Director during the launching o Bagong Pilipinas Movement on March 28, 2009 “so that [he] may concentrate on the transformation of our beloved nation.In 2004, he was a presidential candidate in the Philippine election but lost to incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and placed last in a field of five candidates, with 6.2% of the vote - although many Filipinos believe that the 2004 election in general was a large-scale election fraud, particularly due to the Hello Garci scandal.
On August 21, 2009, he announced that he will be running in the 2010 election and on November 30, 2009, filed his Certificate of Candidacy with the Commission on Elections "accompanied by his running mate, former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chief Perfecto Yasay, and five senatorial bets".
He is the owner and chairman of ZOE Broadcasting Network, a commercial TV station currently operated by GMA Network through Quality TeleVision (QTV). He is also the owner and president of Jesus Is Lord Colleges Foundation Inc. (JILCF), a Christian school in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Education and Early Life
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. He was immersed in both student and labor movements in the 1970’s, joining the progressive segments of society which opposed military dictatorship. Villanueva also took up law at the University of the Philippines but was already into so much activism that he never had time to take the bar [examination]. 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.
