No politics, no Corona at Iglesia prayer rally

MANILA, Philippines - Only the Bible and no politics.

Leaders of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) stressed this during their Grand Evangelical Mission prayer rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park yesterday.

And to avoid accusations of using the prayer rally for political purposes, Chief Justice Renato Corona was a no-show.

Hours before the start of the prayer rally, New Era College of Law dean Abraham Espejo announced that Corona would not attend.

“The CJ is, however, going to watch the mission on Net 25. He congratulates the INC for its important role in shaping the spiritual lives of millions of Filipinos,” Espejo said in a text message to reporters.

INC leaders insisted that the rally was for God, not for Corona.

INC General Evangelist of the Church and spokesperson Bienvenido Santiago clarified their Grand Evangelical Mission was not to show support for Corona, who is facing an impeachment trial.

“This is for us a proclamation. This is not for anybody else but to praise God for the salvation of all men, to express the faith for the salvation of all men who believe in our teachings of God,” Santiago said.

“The gathering (yesterday) afternoon is purely a religious gathering and not as insinuated by others. Our brothers are here to listen to the word of God whom we worship,” he added.

Santiago said their prayer rally was not related to the ongoing Corona impeachment. He stressed the two events might have only have been coincidental.

Santiago though admitted that he is also thankful even if there had been a lot of misconceptions on the purpose of their event, because had there been no media hype there could have been lesser people in attendance.

Police estimated at least 600,000 people turned up at the event, which also tied up traffic in different areas surrounding Rizal Park in Manila. The prayer rally formally began at 5 p.m. and ended two hours later.

Police shut major roads in Manila from midday and deployed about 500 officers as tens of thousands of INC members trooped to the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park.

The three million-strong INC is one of a handful of religious groups courted by politicians of all stripes during election campaigns for its reported massive bloc vote that gives it huge political clout.

Reports said President Aquino’s previously strong ties with the INC have soured since Chief Justice Corona – who has indirect links to the INC – was impeached in December, stirring condemnation from the group.

But Aquino said yesterday the INC had assured him the rallies were purely religious events leading up to the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2014.

“There are others who are saying that there is a political dimension here,” Aquino told reporters.

“Their official communication to us is this is part of their religious obligations and part of their faith,” he added, stressing that the INC had helped him win the 2010 election.

Aquino said that politicians would normally be welcome to join the rally but he had been advised to stay away to avoid giving “a political tinge” to the event and detracting from its “religious intention.”

VIPs

The INC said it just so happened that the year 2012 has been declared as a year for “evangelization” and they decided to conduct a big event during the first part of the year, sometime February.

Santiago said there were very important persons (VIPs) present at the gathering but they would not be allowed to speak.

He clarified the VIPs were not invited by the INC but by individual members.

Among those seen in the event were Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez, former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Magtanggol Gatdula, former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Laguna Gov. Emilio Ramon Ejercito, Pangasinan Rep. Gina de Venecia, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, and Pasay Mayor Antonio Calixto.

On Monday night, Espejo told reporters that Corona would attend the event together with Gatdula.

Espejo also said Corona and Gatdula were supposed to meet at the lobby of the Manila Hotel before going to Quirino Grandstand for the rally.

But it was only Gatdula who appeared at the hotel together with Espejo, former justice secretary Artemio Tuquero and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio. Espejo, Gatdula, Tuquero and Topacio are all members of INC.

Espejo is also legal counsel for Gatdula, who was fired from the NBI after being linked to the kidnapping and extortion of a Japanese national.

Thousands of members of Iglesia ni Cristo walk toward the Quirino Grandstand yesterday. JONJON VICENCIO

Topacio, on the other hand, is the lawyer of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her electoral sabotage case pending before the Pasay City court.

Sought for interview at the hotel, Espejo, Gatdula and Topacio refused, saying they were not allowed to talk on any issue.

Gatdula though confirmed Corona will not appear to dispel any “political color” in their religious activity.

The police said about 160,000 initially gathered at Rizal Park in the early afternoon, three hours before the official start of the event.

Manila Police District (MPD) Operations chief Superintendent Amante Daro said the crowd swelled to 200,000 later in the afternoon.

Another 100,000 sect members had also gathered in Tarlac. Farther north, some 150,000 also gathered in Ilagan, Isabela on their way to attend the gathering.

Hundreds of passenger buses and jeepneys had been hired to ferry INC members from the provinces to Manila.

The Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said they granted special permits to some 647 passenger buses to ferry the INC members.

Police said at least 8,000 vehicles of all types were parked along the roads leading to the gathering.

Major thoroughfares had been closed to vehicular traffic to accommodate the growing number of INC members which organizers said could reach up to three million.

Some INC members were seen having a picnic in front of the National Museum and other roads leading to Rizal Park.

Daro also reported that a huge number of INC members had diverted their routes to the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, as they could no longer make their way to the Quirino Grandstand due to traffic gridlock.

Daro said policemen were deployed to help INC members who had to walk for hours along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue to Quirino Grandstand.

Security was tightened at Quirino Grandstand before dawn yesterday as INC members started arriving.

Police kept watch over the Rizal Park area, including nearby roads and hotels, as buses and jeeps carrying delegates from the provinces arrived.

While a traffic rerouting scheme was not due to take effect until noon, a portion of T.M. Kalaw Street up to the National Library was closed as buses and jeeps parked in the area.

The early delegations came from Quezon and Pampanga provinces as well as the Bicol region.

Buses started arriving as early as 2 a.m., even as some INC members spent the night at the grandstand.

INC members even had their own radio group and ambulances, with one of the ambulances responding to an accident in Vito Cruz before dawn. –With Reinir Padua, Non Alquitran, Jaime Laude, Raymund Catindig, Ric Sapnu