Mariano Zuniega "Bro. Mike" Velarde (born August 20, 1939) is a Filipino

televangelist Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

and founder of

El Shaddai El Shaddai (; ) or just Shaddai is one of the names of God in Judaism. ''El Shaddai'' is conventionally translated into English as ''God Almighty'', as ''Deus Omnipotens'' in Latin, and in . '' El'' means "God" in the Ugaritic and the Canaanite ...

, a Catholic charismatic movement in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The movement reportedly has a following estimated between three and seven million members. He is also the owner of Amvel Land Development Corporation, a

real estate company Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

, and Delta Broadcasting System.

Personal life

Brother Mike is married to Avelina "Belen" del Monte and they have four children: Franklin, Rene, Sherry, and Michael. Velarde's son Rene Velarde, represents the

Buhay The buhay () (also known as a bugai, buhai, berebenytsia, bika, buga, bochka) is a musical instrument that is used in Ukraine and is classified as a friction drum. ''Buhay'' is the Ukrainian word for great bittern (Botaurus stellaris), and i ...

party-list. His son, Franklin, is an investor in the Puyat-controlled Manila Bank. His son, Mariano Michael Velarde Jr. was appointed deputy director general of the

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA ; ) serves as the technical vocational education and training (TVET) authority of the Philippines. As a government agency, TESDA's goals are to develop the Filipino workforce with ...

in 2019. He currently serves in El Shaddai as the assistant servant leader.

Theology

Brother Mike began his involvement with Charismatic Christianity together with the late Russian-Filipino actor-turned-evangelist Ronald Remy who eventually founded the Corpus Christi Community, an

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

congregation now known as Lord Jesus Our Redeemer (LJOR) Church. Velarde, having experienced and been exposed to the Charismatic movement, decided to remain within the Roman Catholic Church. In 1984, he founded the El Shaddai movement which has become an eclectic expression of Philippine folk Christianity, the Charismatic movement, and Roman Catholicism. Velarde remains a

layman In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

within the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church. His preaching style is no different from typical

prosperity gospel Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, seed-faith gospel, Faith movement, or Word-Faith movement) is a belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial bl ...

-driven

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

televangelists. It promises God's financial and physical blessings to all provided that they remain faithful in attendance to gatherings, giving their

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s and offerings, and obedience. Part of Velarde's practical theology is the use of certain inanimate objects such as handkerchiefs, bankbooks, and umbrellas, which are held aloft during services.

Politics

Brother Mike, over the years, has endorsed political candidates. In 2022, he endorsed

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

for the presidential candidacy.

Filmography

Television

*''El Shaddai'' (1992–present) *''Mga Himala at Gintong Aral ni El Shaddai'' (1994–1997)

Films

*''Bro. Mike's Miracles are Forever'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velarde, Mike 1939 births Living people Filipino television evangelists Filipino Christian religious leaders Filipino Roman Catholics People from Catanduanes