After issue ‘settled’ in Manila: Iglesia Ni Cristo calls off protest

CEBU, Philippines- Members of  the Iglesia Ni Cristo flocked to their church along Gene-ral Maxilom Avenue in Cebu City yesterday morning to supposedly stage a march and protest against government’s alleged meddling in their internal affairs.

But just as the march was about to begin it was called off by their officials.

Minister Rommel Pañares, INC Cebu spokesman, said the march was called off after INC spokesman Brother Bienvenido Santiago’s announcement over INCTV and Net25 that church leaders and government have come to a peaceful agreement, thus the church is ending its protest.

“The INC members in Cebu South district are happy that there is a resolution to the peaceful rally,” he said in a statement.

The INC members present and those on their way to the city yesterday were told to return home. INC heads said they expected about 20,000 members, including members from the provinces of Bohol and Negros, to participate in the rally.

The members who were supposed to march from the church to Plaza Independencia calling for respect and the “separation of church and state.”

One of them was 69-year-old Shirley Galvero, who traveled all the way from Dumaguete City just to take part in the protest. Despite the cancellation of the event, Galvero said she was happy with the outcome.

“Nalipay mi nga wala na’y kagubot ug wala na’y mopanamastamas sa among relihiyon nga gisakupan. Ang Diyos niingon nga wala’y sayop nga mohangtud ug ang kamatuoran mopatigbabaw lamang,” she said.

In Manila INC members held a five-day protest at the Department of Justice in Padre Faura since Thursday last week due to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s alleged meddling in the church’s internal conflict. A larger group also gathered in the Edsa-Shaw intersection in Mandaluyong City for three days, causing inconvenience to pedestrians and motorists.

It can be recalled that INC expelled minister Isaias Samsam Jr. filed a complaint of serious illegal detention against the INC leadership council.  The DOJ then initiated the National Bureau of Investigation’s probe on the alleged detention of Samsam and his family by INC officials reportedly after the minister spoke against the alleged abuses in the church.

Traffic slightly affected

As vehicles went in and out of the INC church compound traffic along Maxilom Avenue was “slightly affected.”

“Nag-abot ang mga sakyanan, pagsulod ug paggawas sa simbahan. Naglihok ang mga sakyanan pero hinay o nag-aginod ang dagan sa sakyanan ini’g abot dapit sa simbahan,” said Jonathan Tumulak, the operations division head of the Cebu City Transportation Office.

Traffic enforcers assigned to Maxilom Avenue took four hours to manage the slight traffic problem that started at 6 a.m. 

As early as dawn, INC members started arriving in their vehicles. Some of the INC members opted to proceed to Plaza Independencia, where the protest was supposed to be staged.

CCTO prepared 50 traffic enforcers to be deployed in priority areas for the activity to control road traffic and avoid possible congestion.

However, around 8 a.m. Tumulak received a text message from Pañares prompting him to go to the INC office.

“I had a talk with Mr. Rommel and was informed that they will not continue with their marching rally,” he said.

Since the activity was cancelled, traffic enforcers were pulled out and more than 20 of them were placed along the intersections of Maxilom Avenue and in front of the INC church.

At 10 a.m., traffic flow was already normal, said Tumulak. But some traffic personnel remained there to keep monitoring the road traffic.

Police thankful

The Cebu City police are thankful for the postponement of the event, but insisted they would have been prepared for it.

Superintendent Romeo Santander, chief of the Cebu City Intelligence Branch, said before the rally was set, they already conducted several conferences already on the security preparations for the rally.

“Kay for all we know, maayo unta og normal days lang. APEC man gud,” said Santander.

Should the rally have pushed through, Santander said they already had the Crowd Dispersal Management platoon standing by while the commanders of each police stations were ordered to closely monitoring the rally.

Palace says no deal made

No compromise was made by the government to have the INC agree to end the mass action on Monday, a Malacañang official said.

“There was no deal struck, as some insinuate. The talks gave both sides an opportunity to clarify issues and concerns,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement.

The INC leadership directed its followers to go home and conclude the five-day protests against what they perceive as the Department of Justice’s meddling in church affairs.

Thousands of INC members trooped to EDSA, a major thoroughfare in Manila, to seek the resignation of De Lima, who ordered an investigation into the illegal detention case filed against some of the sect’s top leaders.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, meanwhile, said the INC protest was settled through “diplomacy” and “mutual respect.”

“We were resolved not to inflame passions, which could have given an opening to those with selfish agendas to further exacerbate conflict,” Lacierda said in a statement on the conclusion of the protest.

Lacierda said the protest stemmed from a disagreement which the two sides resolved with “calmer heads.”

“Diplomacy therefore was an important tool in avoiding unintended consequences,” he said.  — with May B. Miasco, Ma. Fatima R. Secuya