Eddie Villanueva Biography
Eddie Villanueva born as Eduardo “Eddie” Cruz Villanueva is an evangelist and president-founder of Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW), one of the largest Christ-centered, Bible-based, full-gospel churches in the world.
He is currently a member of the Philippines’ 18th Congress and, since July 22, 2019, has been Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Previously, Villanueva was a communist-atheist, progressive protester, and parliamentarian on the path. He was imprisoned twice for battling alongside the oppressed of their rights against land grabbing syndicates during martial law.
Villanueva is also the founder of the Movement of the Philippines for Jesus (PJM), which has as members more than forty bishops from various Christian churches nationwide. In the 2004 and 2010 Philippine elections, Villanueva was a presidential candidate and a senatorial candidate in the 2013 midterm Philippine elections, both as the standard-bearer of the Party of the Bangon Pilipinas.
Villanueva is a radio-TV evangelist owning a ZOE Broadcasting Network, a commercial television and radio broadcaster that owns VHF Channel 11 and UHF Channel 33 (Light TV). He is also the owner and founder of the Jesus Is The Lord Colleges Foundation, Inc. (JILCF) in Bocaue, Bulacan, a Christian school where the president of the school is his wife, Adoracion Villanueva.
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Eddie Villanueva, Age
Villanueva was born on 6 October 1946 in Bocaue, Philippines. He is 75 years old as of 2022.
Eddie Villanueva Family
He is the son of Joaquin Villanueva and Maria Cruz. His father, Villanueva, was a former Olympic sprinter who spent four consecutive years in the 1920s representing the Philippines in the Far Eastern Games.
Eddie Villanueva Wife
He was married to the late Adoracion Jose Villanueva, who died on March 10, 2020. The couple has four children.
Eddie Villanueva Children
Eduardo ‘Jon-Jon’ Villanueva, Jr., his eldest son, is a former Bulgarian mayor of Bocaue, who lost his bid in 2004 but won in the May 2007 elections. Jonjon was charged with murder for allegedly ordering the shooting of a Philippine Armed Forces soldier during the elections of May 2007.
His other son, the senator, Sen. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, became the youngest member of the House of Representatives when, on February 6, 2002, he took his oath of office as a representative of the CIBAC party list. From 2016 to 2020, his daughter, Joni Villanueva-Tugna, who died May 28, 2020, was a Christian artist, TV host, and former mayor of Bocaue. His other daughter is an educator, Edelisha Jovi.
Eddie Villanueva Education
Villanueva graduated from the Philippine College of Commerce (PCC) in 1969 with a degree in commerce, majoring in economics, later renamed the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. In the 1970s, he was immersed in both the student and labor movements, entering the radical sectors of society that opposed the tyranny of Marcos. At the University of the Philippines, Villanueva also took up law but was still engaged in so much activism that he never had time to take the bar.
Eddie Villanueva Net Worth
He has made a good fortune from his career as an evangelist and church founder. His net worth estimation is still under review. His son, Joel Villanueva was the fifth wealthiest party-list congressman, according to the Philippine Star, with a net worth of P18.4 million.
Eddie Villanueva Church (Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide)
Villanueva founded the Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide, formerly called Jesus Is Lord Fellowship, on October 5, 1978, “which began with only 15 members from his Bible studies.” In 2007, in 18 cities in Metro Manila, 80 provinces in the Philippines, and 60 countries in the world, JIL said it had “more than five million members today. Overseas Filipino workers and their families are the majority of members abroad.”
Eddie Villanueva Leadership
Villanueva fought local land grabbers in Bulacan during Martial Law and ended up being jailed twice for his political views and involvement in various mass acts. Mr Eddie served in the Economics and Finance, Department of PCC until 1972 as a full-time faculty member. He then served as an export manager for Maran Export Industries in 1973 and was the general manager of Agape Trading Co. from 1976 to 1977. He returned to the now renamed PCC as a part-time professor in 1978.
Eddie Villanueva Awards
In 1979, Villanueva was ordained by the California-based Victory in Christ Church and International Ministries as the Minister of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In April 1996, the Sectarian Body of Christ in the Philippines also bestowed upon him the office of Episcopacy. Two months later, in June 1996, Villanueva won the Gintong Ama (Golden Father) award from the Golden Mother and Father Foundation for the Socio-Civic / Religious Sector.
Villanueva won ZOE TV 11’s EDSA People Power Freedom Award in February 2001 for its equal coverage of the People Power II campaign. He founded and owns ZOE Broadcasting Network Inc. and operates Filipino television channel 11. Bro. Bro. Three ZOE services are hosted by Eddie, Diyos at Bayan, the Forum of PJM (the Philippines for Jesus Movement), and Jesus The Healer.