/ NOY: NOT WORRIED ABOUT RALLY
[PHOTO - IGLESIA
NI CRISTO]
MANILA, FEBRUARY 21, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Sandy Araneta - The
religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) will hold a grand evangelical mission at
the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Feb. 28 to urge President Aquino and his
administration to respect the "rule of law."
A source told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday that simultaneous
rallies will also be held in several areas nationwide, including Cavite,
Batangas, Tarlac, as well as in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Members of the religious group were informed of the gathering through text
messages passed this week.
A pastoral letter was read on Thursday during "Pagsamba" (prayer sessions) in
INC churches all over the country, urging members to invite friends and attend
the two-day "Grand Evangelical mission and Bible exposition" at Luneta Park.
"We are expecting two to three million members to converge in Manila," a
source within INC told The STAR.
The event will be covered live and be seen by INC members all over the world
through live streaming in the Internet.
There are about eight to nine million active members of the INC.
The source said the Feb. 28 "prayer rallies" are just the start and did not
discount the possibility that it would lead to a series of prayer rallies
nationwide.
Another source said the crowd is expected to spill over to Coastal Road, Del
Pan Bridge and could even reach the doorstep of Malacañang.
He said this is the first time that the Church hierarchy has summoned all the
faithful to converge in Manila to listen to the "Word of God."
INC officials declined to confirm or deny the scheduled "religious activity"
but a staff at the INC communication department told The STAR that an official
statement will be issued anytime.
Sources said top government officials were also invited to sit with top INC
leaders during the prayer rally.
He said they will also distribute written messages to those who want to
support their cause for "justice."
Show of force?
But there were also sources within the intelligence service who surmised that
the grand rally could also be in relation to the ongoing impeachment trial of
Chief Justice Renato Corona.
"From what we have gathered, the INC leadership has already issued an order
to each of their local churches in Metro Manila to assemble at least 100 of
their followers for the planned grand prayer rally at Luneta," one of the
sources said.
The INC was dragged into the issue following alleged moves by the Palace for
former SC justice Serafin Cuevas to withdraw as one of Corona's defense
counsels.
Cuevas is an active INC member and has been playing a key role in defending
Corona, whom the Palace wants removed.
Another source said that the INC leadership was also slighted by the
humiliation and subsequent removal from his post of one of their "brethren,"
retired police general Magtanggol Gatdula as director of the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI).
"It is time that they stop persecuting my brethren," the source said, quoting
an influential member of the INC.
President Aquino sacked Gatdula after the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel
of prosecutors recommended the filing of criminal charges against him for his
alleged involvement in the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Japanese
national Noriyo Ohara.
"It's about time people would realize that we (the INC) are not pushovers,"
he said, demanding that the President and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima
apologize to the embattled former NBI chief.
"If they all apologize to Gatdula somehow the tension will subside," he said,
adding that Gatdula's constitutional rights have been violated.
Aside from INC, Malacañang is also on collision course with the Roman
Catholic Church over issues surrounding the reproductive health bill.
Both the INC and the Roman Catholic Church openly supported the presidential
bid of President Aquino in the May 2010 national elections.
The source said that the rally participated in by 7,000 INC members at the
Supreme Court last week was a trial balloon for bigger mass actions. – Reinir Padua, Perseus Echeminada, Evelyn Macairan, Jaime
Laude
Aquino not worried about INC rally By Delon
Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated February 20, 2012 12:00 AMComments (13)
MANILA, Philippines - A confident President Aquino yesterday said he
is not worried about a purported withdrawal of support of the Iglesia ni Cristo
(INC), particularly because some sectors are just putting "political color" to
its activity.
"This is probably a media war and spin war, so why should we be worried? We
haven't done anything wrong," Aquino told Palace reporters in a chance interview
in Baler, Aurora, which celebrated its 33rd founding anniversary yesterday.
The President believes the so-called "evangelical mission" on Feb. 28 is just
one or a "yearly religious activity" of the religious group, just like what he
recalled was a similar gathering when he was still a congressman.
"It is a regular religious activity that is being laced with political
color," he stressed.
Aquino revealed that he and his advisers have indeed checked whether the
5,000 to 7,000 people gathered at the Supreme Court supporting Corona were INC
members, but the leadership denied sending them.
"They asked: If there are rallies joined by Catholics does that mean that it
is a rally of the Catholic Church? That was their answer to us," he said,
brushing aside insinuations that INC will pull support to his administration.
FROM BLOG http://paulgeniusboy.blogspot.com/
INC grand rally at Quirino Grandstand set on Feb. 28 is not
true, says PNoy
The religious group Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) will hold a grand
evangelical mission at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Feb. 28 to urge
President Aquino and his administration to respect the "rule of law."
A source told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday that simultaneous
rallies will also be held in several areas nationwide, including Cavite,
Batangas, Tarlac, as well as in the Visayas and Mindanao. Members of the
religious group were informed of the gathering through text messages passed this
week.
A pastoral letter was read on Thursday during "Pagsamba" (prayer sessions) in
INC churches all over the country, urging members to invite friends and attend
the two-day "Grand Evangelical mission and Bible exposition" at Luneta Park.
"We are expecting two to three million members to converge in Manila," a
source within INC told The STAR.
The event will be covered live and be seen by INC members all over the world
through live streaming in the Internet.
There are about eight to nine million active members of the INC.
The source said the Feb. 28 "prayer rallies" are just the start and did not
discount the possibility that it would lead to a series of prayer rallies
nationwide.
Another source said the crowd is expected to spill over to Coastal Road, Del
Pan Bridge and could even reach the doorstep of Malacañang.
He said this is the first time that the Church hierarchy has summoned all the
faithful to converge in Manila to listen to the "Word of God."
INC officials declined to confirm or deny the scheduled "religious activity"
but a staff at the INC communication department told The STAR that an official
statement will be issued anytime.
Sources said top government officials were also invited to sit with top INC
leaders during the prayer rally. He said they will also distribute written
messages to those who want to support their cause for "justice."
Show of force?
But there were also sources within the intelligence service who surmised that
the grand rally could also be in relation to the ongoing impeachment trial of
Chief Justice Renato Corona.
"From what we have gathered, the INC leadership has already issued an order
to each of their local churches in Metro Manila to assemble at least 100 of
their followers for the planned grand prayer rally at Luneta," one of the
sources said.
The INC was dragged into the issue following alleged moves by the Palace for
former SC justice Serafin Cuevas to withdraw as one of Corona's defense
counsels.
Cuevas is an active INC member and has been playing a key role in defending
Corona, whom the Palace wants removed.
Another source said that the INC leadership was also slighted by the
humiliation and subsequent removal from his post of one of their "brethren,"
retired police general Magtanggol Gatdula as director of the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI).
"It is time that they stop persecuting my brethren," the source said, quoting
an influential member of the INC.
President Aquino sacked Gatdula after the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel
of prosecutors recommended the filing of criminal charges against him for his
alleged involvement in the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Japanese
national Noriyo Ohara.
"It's about time people would realize that we (the INC) are not pushovers,"
he said, demanding that the President and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima
apologize to the embattled former NBI chief.
"If they all apologize to Gatdula somehow the tension will subside," he said,
adding that Gatdula's constitutional rights have been violated.
Aside from INC, Malacañang is also on collision course with the Roman
Catholic Church over issues surrounding the reproductive health bill.
Both the INC and the Roman Catholic Church openly supported the presidential
bid of President Aquino in the May 2010 national elections.
The source said that the rally participated in by 7,000 INC members at the
Supreme Court last week was a trial balloon for bigger mass actions. Report from
DZXL: HINDI nangangamba ang pamahalaang Aquino sa planong pagtitipon ng Iglesia
ni Cristo sa Pebrero 28 para hilingin kay Pnoy na igalang ang rule of law. Ito
ay kasunod ng naunang panawagan ng gobyerno na magbitiw si Justice Serafin
Cuevas na lider ng defense team na kampo ni Chief Justice Renato Corona. Ayon
kay Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte, wala silang bantang pagkilos
na natatanggap at ito ay pawang isang evangelical at Bible exposition lamang ang
magaganap. Bukod dito, wala ding plano na tapatan ng pamahalaan ang nasabing
pagtitipon ng INC. Pro-Corona rally Meanwhile, Aquino brushed off rumors the
Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) will stage a big rally for Corona on February 28. He
said his government has already talked to INC officials on the matter. He
claimed INC had already denied this.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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