Protesters clog Manila’s main highway as powerful Christian group battles government
The influential Iglesia ni Cristo group is complaining of interference by the government into its affairs
Traffic came to almost a halt at a busy intersection of Manila’s main highway on Sunday as thousands of members of a Christian group occupied the road for a third night in a row to protest alleged intrusion by the government in church affairs.
Waving miniature versions of the red, white and green flag of their church, members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), or INC, converged on the highway, some walking with umbrellas to protect them from driving rain. Those in parked cars blew their horns in protest.
Shouting “Hustisya” (Justice), INC members, estimated at 14,500 by police, raised placards calling on the government to uphold religious freedom.
An influential group which politicians have courted in the past because its members are known to follow their leaders’ advice and vote as a bloc, the INC is facing its biggest crisis after a dismissed minister filed an illegal detention case with the Justice department that could lead to INC leaders’ arrest.
Church leaders said the case, resulting from infighting over the use of church funds, was an internal matter and the government should not interfere.
“The current mass action and the mobilisation is basically to pressure the government to get off the case,” said Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Manila-based Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms, adding the government was unlikely to stop the legal process.
