Officials, political figures join mourners at INC head's funeral

MANILA, Philippines - Top government officials and well-known political figures braved rain and heavy traffic yesterday to attend the funeral of Iglesia ni Cristo executive minister Eraño “Ka Erdy” Manalo.

More than a million grieving members of the religious group gathered outside the Central Temple to witness their leader’s remains transferred to his final resting place at the Tabernacle of the Central Complex along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

President Arroyo arrived earlier in the day and stayed for about half an hour.

Vice President Noli de Castro was also present and even received the Philippine flag from the honor guards, which he later handed to the family of the deceased INC leader. 

Cabinet members who paid their last respects to Manalo included Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, Climate Change Adviser Heherson Alvarez, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, among others.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Chief Justice Reynato Puno, former President Joseph Estrada, his wife former Sen. Luisa Ejercito, their son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada; former First Lady Imelda Marcos and her son Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.; and Senators Loren Legarda, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Manuel Roxas II, and Juan Miguel Zubiri also attended the funeral.

Politicians of different persuasions also came but politics was not the main fare for the day. In fact, Estrada was even seen shaking hands with First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo at the wake the other night.

Manalo’s remains were transferred from the Sanctuario located beneath the INC Central Temple at past 11 a.m. to the nearby Tabernacle. 

The flower-decked white tomb at the center of the spacious Tabernacle will be Manalo’s temporary burial site while a mausoleum is being constructed beside the monument of his father, INC founder Felix Manalo.

Before the interment, Manalo’s casket was draped with an INC flag and carried by eight INC ministers in barong Tagalog and wearing black armbands. 

Only INC district ministers and other INC officials were allowed inside the Tabernacle aside from Manalo’s family and the VIPs. 

The restriction to the Tabernacle was made to ensure the solemnity of the funeral and also because the place could only accommodate 600 people.

After the INC flag was folded, Manalo’s casket was covered with the Philippine flag and opened for the last time for final viewing by his family. Outside the temple, honor guards gave a 21-gun salute. The flag was subsequently removed and folded by seven honor guards. 

Manalo’s casket was placed in the tomb at exactly 12:08 p.m. and sealed at 12:18 p.m., after his family and relatives placed white roses on top of his casket inside the tomb.

Millions grieved

A loud and enduring wail from more than a million followers was heard from the congregation inside the Tabernacle and from other members watching the big screens outside the INC complex amid intermittent rain as Manalo’s casket was being placed inside the tomb.

“We will never forget him. We love him so much. We thank him for teaching us to embrace our faith and to always aim to live a good life,” said a grieving woman, who watched Manalo being laid to rest on a small screen in a van parked a few blocks away from the central complex.

The mourners outside the central complex came from as far away as Tuguegarao in the North and Cotabato in the South. They started to arrive and assembled along a stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, which was closed by authorities since late night Sunday in anticipation of the large crowd. 

The INC members came prepared with umbrellas and enough food to last until Monday.

“It’s okay if we cannot get inside the Tabernacle, though it’s better of course if we could. But for us, whether we were inside the Tabernacle or not, the important thing is that we are here to empathize, to show our sympathy,” said an old woman, who identified herself as Aling Ising.

“The sufferings we experience now because of the rains and the difficult condition here outside are no match to what our brother, Ka Erdy, did for us,” she added. 

Quezon City Police District director Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego said INC members gathered outside the main temple numbered about 1.5 to 2 million.

“Luckily, with this huge volume of people, everything was orderly and there was no untoward incident reported,” San Diego told The STAR.

San Diego added that even as early as yesterday morning, half a million had camped out along Commonwealth Avenue, spending the night on the road.

He said the number increased leading up to the scheduled funeral at noon.

Some 500 policemen were deployed yesterday to secure the area, including cops in uniforms, intelligence operatives and even members of the bomb squad and SWAT, according to San Diego.

The entire stretch of Commonwealth Avenue was filled with a sea of mourners who were not able to get inside the temple.

Superintendent Rudie Valoria, head of the QCPD’s Traffic Enforcement Unit, said that some 50,000 vehicles were parked on the sidewalk and the outer lanes of Commonwealth Avenue, causing a monstrous traffic jam.

The crowd started dispersing later in the afternoon after the funeral. – With Reinir Padua, Jose Rodel Clapano