Philippine elections officials declare Msgr. Jeemar Lucero Vera Cruz (second from right) winner of the vice mayoral race in the southern city of Iligan. The priest faces being defrocked for defying the warnings made by the country's Catholic bishops for members of the clergy not to run for public office. (Photo by Richel Umel)

A Catholic priest has been declared winner in the vice mayoral race in the southern Philippine city of Iligan on May 9.

Elections official have declared Msgr. Jeemar Lucero Vera Cruz, vicar general of Iligan Diocese, as the city's new vice mayor.

Msgr. Vera Cruz faces being defrocked for defying the country's Catholic bishops who instructed clergy not to run for public office.

However the priest said he is officially on leave and does not face any church sanctions.

"I do not face being defrocked as a priest because I had an official permission and on official leave only from my ministerial function," he said.

The priest, however, told ucanews.com that he will be leaving his role as a priest "temporarily in response to God's calling to help the constituents of Iligan City."

He said there is a need to transform the city after the arrest of the city's mayor, who is facing charges of conspiring in the attempted murder of a congressman.

Msgr. Vera Cruz has come under fire from critics who accuse the priest of using the pulpit to fuel his political ambition, a charge the priest denies.

"I do not use the church or the pulpit for my political aspirations," he said.

"This is about justice, and standing up for and hearing the cry of the poor," Msgr. Vera Cruz told ucanews.com.

After his election, Msgr. Vera Cruz, vowed to "dismantle the syndicates of corruption in the city." He urged the people of Iligan to support the efforts of the new administration to fight criminality.

"We need an iron hand to push through with reforms, but it is an iron hand with a heart," said Msgr. Vera Cruz.

The priest earlier told ucanews.com that he is running for office to help families still suffering after falling victim to the devastation brought by Typhoon Washi, which struck the southern Philippines in 2011.

Four years after the tragedy, the housing needs of hundreds of families are still unmet despite millions of pesos of funding pouring into the city, the priest said.

"The poor have lost so much. We must help them rebuild their lives," Msgr. Vera Cruz said. This "requires a measure of justice, charity and fairness," he added.

— The fourth and fifth paragraphs of this story were updated May 12 with comments from Msgr. Vera Cruz.