EDUARDO V. MANALO

    Eduardo Villanueva Manalo, colloquially known as "Ka Eddie" and "Eddie Boy", is the grandson of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) founder Felix Ysagun Manalo and is the son of the current INC Executive Minister Erano G. Manalo. He is now the current deputy Executive Minister of the INC, an indigenous religious sect (called a cult by some) in the Philippines founded in 1914. He is currently being groomed to soon replace his father (born 1925) as head of the church, while his son Sebastian Manalo is expected to fill the position of Vice Executive Minister.

He was born October 31, 1955, to Erano G. Manalo and Cristina Villanueva. Prior to being appointed to his senior role in the church, he was an active amateur radio enthusiast and ran a local radio frequency bulletin board service at a time when Internet access in the Philippines was practically non-existent.

He is said to have been instrumental in the founding of an organization within the Iglesia Ni Cristo called "The Association of Christians in Information Technology"and (http://www.ascii.org/) serves as its president. According to their site, they are an organization consisting of Iglesia Ni Cristo members in the IT field who perform computer-related assistance to the church. More recently, their website downplays the connection between them and the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

In February 2004, when running for re-election, President Arroyo and her campaign manager, Michael Defensor, paid a "courtesy call" on Eduardo Manalo. This appears to have paid off when INC came out in support of the incumbent's campaign in early May. "We would like to thank all our brothers in the Iglesia Ni Cristo, particularly Ka Erdie and Ka Eduardo, for the support..." said Defensor in a television news interview. Arroyo went on to win the election, in which the INC bloc vote was probably the determining factor.