I. Personal Background
A. Born in Bocaue, Bulacan
B. Born on October 6, 1946
C. He is married to Adoracion "Dory" Villanueva and they have four children
D. His eldest son, Eduardo Jr. lost when he ran for mayor in his hometown of Bocaue, Bulacan in 2004.
E. His other son Joel Villanueva, representing the CIBAC party list, is one of the richest party-list congressman with assets of P27.578 million.
F. In 1969, he graduated with a degree in Commerce, majoring in Economics, from the Philippine College of Commerce, which has since been renamed as the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
G. He took up law at the University of the Philippines but "was sidelined by
activism and never had time to take the bar examination
H. He worked as a full-time faculty member in the Economics and Finance Department of PCC until 1972.
I. He then worked as the export manager of Maran Export Industries in 1973 and from 1976 to 1977
J. he was the general manager of the Agape Trading Co. He returned to PUP in 1978 as a part-time professor
II. “Bro Eddie" as a Religious Leader
A. In 1978, Villanueva founded the Jesus is Lord Church formerly named Jesus is Lord Fellowship, which started with just eight members.
B. Brother Eddie received the Gintong Ama (Golden Father) award for Socio Civic/Religious Sector from the Golden Mother and Father Foundation in June 1996.
C. He was also voted Pastor of the Year
D. In February 2001, Brother Eddie received the EDSA People Power Freedom Award for ZOE TV 11 for its fair coverage of the People Power II movement.
E. He founded and owns ZOE Broadcasting Network Inc.
F. Bro. Eddie hosts three ZOE programs, Diyos at Bayan, PJM (Philippines for Jesus Movement) Forum and Jesus The Healer.
III. Controversies
A. Questionable Prophecies
- Villanueva claims to be a prophet of God and has issued specific prophecies that he claims were prophetic visions from God. His prophecies mainly deal with with God's grand plan for the Filipino nation.
- One of his failed prophecies was his declaration that the Philippines will become "the America of Asia in 2000."
- In 1998, The Philippine for Jesus Movement (PJM), an umbrella organization of more than 10,000 Protestant churches or about 3 million members of which Villanueva is the Chairman of the board had declared Jose de Venecia as the "God-mandated next president of the Philippines."
- The prophecy went unfulfilled when de Venecia lost to former President Joseph Estrada.
B. Estafa Case
- In October 2005, an arrest warrant had been issued against Villanueva on charges of estafa(swindling) filed by businessman Benito Araneta in April 2005.
- When the arrest had been made public after Villanueva's refusal to pay the P40,000 bail set by the court, he cried political harassment claiming that case filed against him by Araneta who is the first cousin of President Arroyo's husband, is a reprisal for joining the opposition-led call for Arroyo’s resignation over accusations of cheating in the 2004 presidential election.
C. Son's Murder Case
- In May 2007, Villanueva's son, Eduardo 'Jonjon ' Villanueva Jr., who was running for mayor in Bocaue, Bulacan, was charged with murder and obstruction of justice by the Department of Justice after a soldier was killed in a shootout involving the supporters of Villanueva and a group of soldiers.
IV. 2004 Presidential Bid
A. His campaigns carried both religious and political colors with the "V" finger sign representing Dios at Bayan (God and Nation).
B. he called righteous leadership based on a certain Biblical passage that says, "Righteousness exalts a nation."
C. Stories of campaign sermons being made against Villanueva by prominent leaders of major religious groups like the Iglesia Ni Cristo, El Shaddai, and even the Roman Catholic Church were also spread at that time,
D. Villanueva's campaigns were marked with persuasion, praying, spontaneity of words, crowd singing and celebrity supporters.
E. Among them were Connie Reyes, Karla Martinez, Piolo Pascual, Garry Valenciano, Donita Rose, Yoyoy Villame, Nonoy Zunega, Jeremias Jangad, Christian Bautista, and many others.
V. Qoutes
“If they kill this — the fight of principled lawmakers — today or tomorrow, in front of God and history, it's justified for the Filipino people. ... They could not be stopped from going to the court of the streets.”
