Palace to Iglesia ni Cristo: Respect other people’s rights

EDSA Shrine mass disrupted   

MANILA, Philippines - The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) has rights, but it should also respect the rights of others, Palace officials said yesterday.

Malacañang made this clear to the thousands of INC members who staged a rally along EDSA over the weekend in Mandaluyong City to protest a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of the kidnapping and detention of a minister expelled from the group.

Last night a Catholic mass at the EDSA Shrine was disrupted when a small group of INC members gathered outside the church where the mass was being broadcast.

The protesters were initially quiet, but started chanting, “INC, INC!” as rain started pouring at around 7 p.m.

Most of the protesters had gathered at the EDSA-Shaw Boulevard intersection, where they were allowed to hold a program. But they started marching toward the EDSA Shrine at 5 p.m.

Officials led by Eastern Police District director Senior Superintendent Elmer Jamias tried but failed to convince the INC members not to go to the shrine, where police officers in anti-riot gear were deployed.

EDSA’s northbound lane was again closed yesterday as the INC members blocked the Shaw Boulevard underpass exit and the entry to the Ortigas Avenue flyover.

Some of the crowd crossed Ortigas Avenue, which is under the jurisdiction of Quezon City, at 7 p.m.

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista said the INC did not apply for a rally permit. He said the Quezon City Police District and the National Capital Region Police Office were coordinating on the appropriate action.

Police said the crowd at EDSA-Shaw was estimated at 13,000 while about 1,500 were at the EDSA Shrine.

At Malacañang, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. stressed the religious group also has responsibilities and obligations under the law.

Coloma said this is the focus of the government while it continues to monitor the rallies staged by the INC.

He said the government wants to ensure that the rally remains peaceful and would not affect others.

The government has sided with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, whose department has received the complaint of illegal detention of Isaias Samson, whom the INC leadership has expelled for allegedly exposing corruption in the religious group.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also said the government has shown fairness in dealing with the issues being raised by the INC against De Lima, even as it warned some sectors against exploiting the situation and blowing it out of proportion.

She said President Aquino’s main concern was to ensure public order and safety while INC members were being given the opportunity to stage protest actions against what they claimed was De Lima’s interference in their religion’s internal affairs.

“We have been monitoring the situation closely... The President’s instructions were to ensure the safety of the public – not just those who are involved in the protest but, more importantly, those who are uninvolved in the protest,” Valte said over the weekend.

Motorists and commuters should be able to pass through the entire thoroughfare, she said.

“The President mentioned specifically that government should ensure... that there are no opportunities for those who may want to take advantage of the situation for their personal end,” she said.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said the INC may invoke freedom of assembly in expressing their grievances to the government but it should also allow the legal process to take its course.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) also called on the INC to respect the rule of law in their ongoing protest actions.

“Unless it is convincingly shown that a law offends moral precepts, obedience to the law is a Christian duty. Sons and daughters of the Church cannot be less observant of the law than other citizens of the Republic,” the CBCP said.

Pimentel also weighed in on the invocation of right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion as the INC leaders argued the infighting among leaders of the religious group should be considered an “internal matter.”

“The conduct of a rally is an issue of freedom of assembly but they should subject themselves to the procedure, just like any others when they need to comply with the permits, the condition of the permits as well as the rules on use of placards,” Pimentel said.

While the right to assembly can be part of the freedom of expression, a right guaranteed under the Constitution, Pimentel warned the rallyists should also be wary on the rules governing libel.

“As long as the placards (do not contain) libelous messages. As far as I can see, their placards do not contain any libelous statements,” he said.

Pimentel said he does not agree with the INC’s argument that the DOJ should not investigate the allegations filed by a disgruntled member against the INC leadership by saying it is an internal affair and encroaches on the constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state.

“I don’t think the complaint is against any church or any religion, it is against a person. So part of the job of DOJ is to receive the complaint and conduct a preliminary investigation to look into the basic facts,” Pimentel said in an interview with dzBB.

Pimentel said the investigation will be pursued if the prosecutors see any violation of the Revised Penal Code or any law or if it’s a public crime. Otherwise, it would be dismissed if there is no evidence.

 “Only human beings can detain somebody else, so it’s a person versus another,” he added.

Pimentel said the investigation into the compliant filed by Samson needs to be pursued.

“If this is an internal matter, I will no longer continue but if it involves public crime I have to continue,” he said.

“And if the complaint is for financial dishonesty, maybe it was filed on the motivation of the supposed aggrieved party, so, that is an internal matter,”Pimentel said, adding that the state cannot act with respect to the freedom of religion.

As throngs of INC members gathered along EDSA-Shaw Blvd over the weekend, Pimentel said he saw no problem if they want to invoke their freedom to expression.

“We should give any group the chance to air their grievances publicly, just always follow the basic rules,” Pimentel said.

“But charges of illegal detention are a heavy offense, because it involves life and liberty. Liberty and freedom are very important because without these, your life has no value at all,” he added.

The CBCP urged Catholic lawyers, jurists and law professors “to contribute to the ongoing discourse in a constructive manner, without condemnation. We seek to be enlightened on what the fundamental law of the land provides, the boundaries of the freedom of religion and the rights and the prerogatives of State.”

“Pray without ceasing for a peaceful and just resolution of the present dispute, in a manner both pleasing to God and in conformity with the democratic convictions enunciated in our Constitution,” the CBCP appealed.

The CBCP also called for respect of the EDSA Shrine where the INC protesters initially planned to gather.

“The EDSA Shrine is a Catholic center of worship. It is a church. There is a Catholic priest assigned to it. We ask that all respect the sacred character of the EDSA Shrine,” CBCP said.

The bishops also reminded the faithful not to cause further conflict and be an instrument of charity.

“No Catholic should fan the flames of dissension by rumor-mongering and by inflammatory statements. Let’s all be kind in disposition, respectful in speech and prudent in action,” the CBCP said.

Lastly, CBCP reminded politicians not to take advantage of the situation.

“No politician should gain political ground by abetting dissension or, worse, fostering disregard of the Constitution and the law. Neither is it morally correct for any political party to aim at gaining an advantage by controlling a religious sect known to propose to its members a chosen set of candidates,” it appealed.

INC members staged protest actions against the DOJ after Samson filed an illegal detention case against eight leaders of the religious group.

Instead of considering it an internal matter of INC given the separation of church and state, De Lima decided to look into the allegations. –Christina Mendez, Edu Punay