DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 13 Jan) – The Iglesia Ni Cristo’s “National Rally for Peace” at the San Pedro Square here Monday, which police said was participated by 370,000 church members, turned out to be a showcase of talents – mostly song and dance presentation by the youth. The rest of the time was spent watching the broadcast of the INC-controlled NET 25 TV station on big LED screens.
No one from among the local members of the church spoke about the issues that precipitated the nationwide prayer rally: the impeachment cases filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The teenaged boys and girls sang and danced to the tune of mostly modern Filipino songs from groups like Itchyworms and BINI.
And while the NET 25 broadcast, including that of the prayer rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila reportedly attended by more than a million people, was flashed on 20 or so big LED screens at the San Pedro Square and adjacent areas, some INC members looked bored. Some were sleeping, others were eating, playing with or scrolling their phones, or even venturing into the ukay-ukay stalls along San Pedro St. in downtown Davao City.
INC members who attended the prayer rally started arriving as early as 2 a.m., according to Angel Sumagaysay, head of the Public Safety and Security Office.
The event started at 9 a.m., showing the sing and dance intermission numbers until 10 a.m. Then the rally participants watched the live broadcast of NET 25 showing updates of INC rallies all over the country.
By 3:30 p.m., NET 25 showed the events at the Quririno Grandstand until 5:22 p.m. The intermission numbers then resumed until 7:20 p.m., when the prayer rally ended.
Capt. Hazel Caballero, DCPO spokesperson, said that by 5 p.m., 370,000 people were in the San Pedro Square and neighboring areas, spilling over to the streets nearby – San Pedro, C.M. Recto (commonly known as Claveria), Pelayo (commonly known as Legaspi), A. Inigo (commonly known as Anda), C. Bangoy (commonly known as Magallanes), Rizal, Bonifacio, Palma Gil, Bolton, and City Hall Drive.
When the NET 25 broadcast ended, INC members took souvenir pictures, then left to go home.
Some helped out to gather the trash, segregating the paper materials of the placards from the wooden frames and handles. Garbage collectors from the city government soon came to collect the trash.
Col. Hansel Marantan was impressed, saying that the INC members were “cooperative” and “disciplined.”
Three impeachment complaints have been filed against VP Duterte in the House of Representatives for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery and other high crimes for the alleged misuse of confidential funds as Vice President and as Education Secretary.
The Vice President, in a video message, thanked INC members who joined the rallies.
“Ito ay isang makapangyarihang pagpapakita ng pagkakaisa at pananampalataya na ang tanging hangad lamang ay kapayapaan tungo sa kaunlaran ng ating bansa,” she said. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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