Manila: A non-Catholic group ended their protest as the Benigno Aquino government was quick to claim victory over what has been regarded as a political conflict of nerves with one of the most influential religious denominations in the country.
Thousands of members of the Iglesia ni Kristo (Church of Christ or INC) dispersed in large groups on Sunday as they ended their several-days’ mass action which aimed to send the message to the government not to meddle in the church denomination’s “internal affairs.”
INC members invoked the separation of church and State in asking that the government not pursue an abduction case filed against the INC leaders by two of its prominent pastors.
In the aftermath of the protest action, the palace was quick to claim credit for diffusing the tension which roiled Metro Manila for several days and made life difficult for them.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the matter is internal to the more-than-a-century-old religious group.
“Over the past few days, members of the Iglesia ni Cristo have gathered in key areas of Metro Manila. The mass action stems from their sentiments regarding a complaint filed by two of their members at the Department of Justice,” said in a statement.
“Their protests, like all others, involve a disagreement. The question therefore is whether calmer heads will prevail so that such disagreements are resolved peacefully through mutual respect,” he said in a statement.
The palace said the government had to take steps to diffuse the tensions and protect the majority who had been inconvenienced the past few days by the protest actions that practically clogged the EDSA-Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyon City, an important crossroad in the metropolis.
“This was an important consideration for the government: Just as it was important to protect the rights of all, ensure public safety, and minimise opportunities for sowing mayhem, we knew that a truly long-term solution involved engendering an atmosphere of dialogue, which will result in de-escalating the situation that created tensions in the first place,” Lacierda said.
Welcome relief
The end to the group’s four-day occupation of an important Metro Manila crossroad was a welcome relief to residents of the metropolis who had to bear with the difficulty of contending with heavy vehicular traffic on their way to work and their return to their homes.
For its part, the INC said it was engaged in talks with the government wherein both sides had engaged each other and brought out their respective concerns.
“Both sides talked and enlightened each other,” INC general minister Bienvenido Santiago said in a statement aired on Net 25, the INC-owned broadcast network.
The daily mass actions had been a show of solidarity to several members of the religious group’s council of leaders — who had been charged before the Department of Justice last Wednesday of harassment and illegal detention among other accusations.
Eight members of the council had been accused by a former key member, Isias Samson of detaining him and two other members of his family last July when the organisation was being besieged with accusations of corruption and impropriety.
Samson is editor of INC’s organisational newsletter, the Pasugo.