Iglesia ni Cristo steps up mobilization for EDSA rally

OCCUPY EDSA glesia ni Cristo protesters occupy the northbound side of Edsa as they march to the Edsa Shrine on Sunday. GRIG MONTEGRANDE

Thousands of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) followers were on their way to Manila from the provinces on Sunday, summoned by their leaders to a million-people rally on Edsa Monday to pressure the government to drop a criminal complaint against members of the sect’s governing council.

Police said 14,500 INC protesters clogged the Edsa-Shaw Boulevard intersection as of 6 last night, seven hours before the permit given by the Mandaluyong City government for the rally was to expire.

There were reports of INC efforts to get the permit extended but government offices were closed and it was unclear whether officials of the sect got an extension. Monday, National Heroes’ Day, is also a holiday. (On late Sunday night, Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos extended the ralliers’ permit to Monday morning, and said he would assist in their transfer to Manila, where its mayor, Joseph Estrada, had earlier granted a rally permit until Fiday, Sept. 4.)

But INC officials said on Saturday that they were aiming for a big crowd on Monday, possibly 1 million as the sect leadership summoned members from the Bicol region, Nueva Ecija, Quezon, Zambales, Batangas and Pangasinan provinces to Manila to join the rally on Edsa.

Police doubted 1 million people could be forced into the 1,200-square-meter Edsa-Shaw Boulevard intersection, the spot covered by the INC’s rally permit.

Senior Supt. Elmer Jamias, Eastern Police District director, said that at four people to a square meter, the intersection could accommodate only 4,800 people.

The Philippine National Police has been on full alert since Thursday, when INC began the rally in front of the Department of Justice (DOJ) building on Padre Faura Street in Manila to protest against Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s decision to accept the complaint of serious illegal detention filed by expelled INC minister Isaias Samson Jr. against members of the group’s governing council.

Invoking separation of church and state, INC wants the DOJ to drop the complaint, insisting that the matter involved internal affairs of the sect.

Not people power

Malacañang refused to see the INC action as “people power.”

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said INC had emphasized that its action was “not in opposition to the Aquino administration.”

Coloma said the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the local governments concerned were in talks with INC to ensure public order, security and safety during the rally.

The rally went into its fourth day on Sunday, with thousands of INC members blocking the northbound side of Edsa as they marched in the rain toward the Catholic-run Edsa Shrine.

They shouted “INC!” and “Justice!” as Mass was being celebrated inside the shrine.

The crowd eventually quieted down and went up to the sidewalks to allow traffic to move.

Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, spokesman for the PNP, said 13,000 INC members converged on Shaw Boulevard for the rally and 1,500 marched to the Edsa Shrine.

Some protesters tried to move toward Ortigas Avenue on the northbound side of Edsa, but were blocked by policemen.

Other protesters crossed to the southbound side of the highway despite warnings from the policemen.

The march marred the order that characterized the protest on Saturday.

Chaos is expected on Monday as thousands of INC members from northern and central Luzon provinces arrive to join the protest.

In Pangasinan, an INC official said several members left the province as early as Thursday to join the rally on Edsa.

The INC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to speak about the matter, said the members either traveled using their own vehicles or rented vans and buses.

But Supt. Ferdinand de Asis, Pangasinan police spokesman, said only a group from Calasiao town had been monitored so far to have left for Metro Manila on Friday night.

Pangasinan province is divided into three INC ecclesiastical districts, with an estimated 100,000 members in 2010, according to the Philippine Statistical Authority.

But an INC member, who also requested anonymity, said only able-bodied members were advised to join the protest in Manila.

“The elderly and those who are sick have been told not to join the trip,” the source said.

The INC official said members were also advised to bring extra clothes, but did not say for how many days.

Another INC official said members from central Pangasinan left in 40 buses on Sunday to join the protest on Edsa.

The official said 20 buses left at 9 a.m., while 20 more were scheduled to leave later. Each bus, the official said, could seat 60 people.

The source said a Pangasinan official offered buses to ferry INC members to Metro Manila but the offer was rejected.

In Dagupan City, 300 INC members left for Metro Manila early Sunday, using private vehicles and small buses.

The source said the buses were hired by local churches, “as our local church leaders wanted to support those who are from Metro Manila.”

Those joining were told to bring umbrellas, change of clothes and food.

Orders came Friday

An INC source in Pampanga said members in Luzon had been instructed by their leaders to join the protest action in Metro Manila as early as Friday night.

They were not told how long they would be on Edsa, the source said, adding that the objective of the rally was to force the resignation of De Lima for giving “special attention” to the complaint against members of the INC governing council.

In Laoag City, INC leaders said about 5,000 members from chapters in Ilocos Norte left Sunday afternoon while others left on Saturday to avoid traffic on the highway.

In Bulacan, INC members joining the Metro Manila protest were advised by their leaders to bring money, food, water, extra clothes, monobloc or folding chairs and anything they may need in case they needed to sleep or rest.

The source said INC leaders in Bulacan were expecting to mobilize about 20,000 members in the province for the Edsa rally.—Julie M. Aurelio; With reports from Jerry E. Esplanda in Manila; Yolanda Sotelo, Gabriel Cardinoza and Leilanie Adriano, Inquirer Northern Luzon; and Tonette Orejas and Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon; Inquirer.net