2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests
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The 2015 INC protests were a series of marches which occurred between August 27–31, 2015. Supporters of the Iglesia ni Cristo, a religious body led by executive minister
Eduardo V. Manalo Eduardo Villanueva Manalo (; born October 31, 1955, in Quezon City, Philippines) also known as Ka Erdy is the current Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). He is the third generation of the Manalo family to lead the church following ...
, protested against the Department of Justice for allegedly meddling in internal church affairs by taking action on an illegal detention case filed by expelled minister Isaias Samson, Jr. Samson alleged that he was illegally detained by the church and has accused the church of corruption.


Background


Timeline


August 27

About 2,000 Iglesia Ni Cristo members led by its spokesperson, Edwil Zabala organized a vigil outside the office of the Department of Justice along Padre Faura Street in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
. The demonstrators protested against the government agency, led by De Lima, for allegedly persecuting their church and called for upholding the
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
. They also called for the agency to prioritize more important issues. The start of the protests was inline with De Lima's 56th birthday and the justice secretary hinting of her intention to run as senator in the 2016 Philippine elections saying that she was 80 percent sure of pursuing a senatorial campaign.


August 28

The protests continued near the Department of Justice office but the demonstrators later moved to
Epifanio De los Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, ...
or EDSA in the evening. At 6:00 pm the National Capital Region Police Office went full-alert. Task Force Manila Shield was activated. At 8:30pm protestors started to gather outside the
SM Megamall SM Megamall, simply known as Megamall, is the third largest shopping mall in the Philippines and the thirteenth largest in the world that is developed and operated by SM Prime Holdings. It is located in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Philippi ...
Fashion Hall in
Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...
and the EDSA Shrine in Quezon City, a few hundred meters away, before marching to Shaw Boulevard. By 9:30pm, both the southbound and northbound lanes of EDSA in front of Robinsons Galleria were filled with protestors, leaving only the EDSA-Ortigas flyover passable and leaving motorists stranded for over four hours. Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco, and Council of Philippine Affairs (Copa) head Pastor Boy Saycon were also reported to have joined the protests by 11:30pm. The protesters shouted in unison, "Hustisya" or Justice in
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
but later switched and shouted “hostess siya, De Lima.” (She's a hostess, De Lima). "Hostess" in Philippine colloquialism means prostitute. When an ambulance passed by near the protest site, some protesters called for putting De Lima inside the passing vehicle. “Leila, Leila Labandera” was also chanted by the demonstrators to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic and they yelled “pabebe, De Lima!” when a Higantes-themed effigy of De Lima was brought to the protest site. One of the hosts of the protests alleged that De Lima's alleged giving priority to the illegal detention case by Samson was related to her plans for the 2016 elections. In response to De Lima's reaction that she was just doing her job, the host said that the job of the secretary "was not to listen to hearsays" and that De Lima must focus on more important issues such as the case of the
SAF 44 The Mamasapano clash was a shootout that took place during a police operation by the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, 2015, in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now ...
. About 5,000 was estimated to have taken part in the August 28 protest as estimated by the police.


August 29

Former Tarlac Governor, Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco spoke before the Iglesia Ni Cristo protesters at EDSA-Shaw corner at evening of August 29. She called for justice of the
SAF 44 The Mamasapano clash was a shootout that took place during a police operation by the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, 2015, in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now ...
who were killed in the
Mamasapano clash The Mamasapano clash was a shootout that took place during a police operation by the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, 2015, in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now ...
and called for the police officers which were asked to secure the site of the protests to join her on stage. INC spokesperson Zabala apologised for the heavy traffic caused by the protests, and reminded protesters that the media were not their enemy after an
ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...
cameraman was reported to have been attacked on August 28. The Mandaluyong government had given them a permit to protest until August 30 which could be extended.


August 30

Protests continues in EDSA as parts of the avenue were rendered impassible. The number of protesters swelled to around 15,400 according to police reports. The Mandaluyong city government's permit to the protesters only allowed the protesters to gather at a designated 1,200-sq.m. area at EDSA-Shaw. It was reported that some protesters occupied the portion near the EDSA Shrine in
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
. It was also reported that as early as August 29, Iglesia Ni Cristo members from other parts of Luzon were converging in Metro Manila for the protests. Similar protests in
Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
,
Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa, officially the City of Puerto Princesa (Cuyonon: ''Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa''; fil, Lungsod ng Puerto Princesa), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...
, and Davao starting on evening of August 30 were also planned.


August 31

Through the INC-ran television channel NET 25, General Evangelist Bienvenido Santiago announced the end of the protests after he said that the church and government officials held talks and made clarifications to their respective sides. Palace spokesperson Abigail Valte, clarified that there was no deal struck between the government and the church. Planned demonstrations in Cebu were cancelled. Some protesters were already gathered at the INC house of worship along Gen. Maxilom Avenue when the cancellation of protest were announced. It was planned that they would head toward Plaza Independencia to stage a vigil.


Political Analysis

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms, based in Manila, described the protests' goal as to pressure the government to back out from taking action on the filed illegal detention case. Casiple added that the government was unlikely to yield and stop the legal process. He added that "The one on trial here is the Iglesia ni Cristo. They have to show their unity... their strength,"


Reactions


Relevant parties


Isaias Samson Jr.

Samson's lawyer, Trixie Cruz-Angeles, speaking on his behalf said that “The Sanggunian, the people who we filed charges against are running scared, they are very, very afraid,”. Cruz-Angeles alleges that the church leadership are using the protesters as human shields. "First they thought Ka Jun (Samson) would not put his money where his mouth is, so to speak, that he was afraid. They thought they had neutralized him. But with his coming out and filing cases, these are only the first cases. There are more. And they know that,” she added referring to the Samson's camp opinion on the Sanggunian.


Others


Individual Politicians

Vice President Jejomar Binay said in a statement on August 29 that the Iglesia ni Cristo was only practicing its freedom to assembly and religious freedom. He also criticized the current administration. “We cannot fault the INC for resorting to mass action to protect the independence of their church from a clear act of harassment and interference from the administration,” Binay said. He called for the justice of
SAF 44 The Mamasapano clash was a shootout that took place during a police operation by the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 25, 2015, in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now ...
which he believes that the DOJ must prioritize. Senator Grace Poe said that she respects the protesters. “For me, those people are defending their faith. We respect that and they also have to protect their rights,” Poe said. She also called for the government to clarify the actions taken to the Iglesia ni Cristo and noted that the DOJ is already handling many cases when asked if the DOJ should handle the illegal detention case. “The INC certainly has the right to stage a peaceful mass action to express their sentiments in defense of their faith,”. Senator
Francis Escudero Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero (, born October 10, 1969) is a Filipino lawyer and politician serving as a Senator since 2022, and previously from 2007 to 2019. He recently served as governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022, and was the re ...
had a similar opinion to Poe and added that the DOJ must respect the separation of church and state. Senator
Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( , , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a senat ...
said in support to the Iglesia ni Cristo. He said that the DOJ's investigation must be both transparent and impartial. Senator
Miriam Defensor Santiago Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago (''née'' Defensor; June 15, 1945 – September 29, 2016) was a Filipino scholar, academic, lawyer, judge, author, and stateswoman who served in all three branches of the Philippine government: judicial, executiv ...
express the support to Iglesia ni Cristo. She said “The envelope has been pushed too far. As a matter of faith, they (members of the INC) want a regime change, even only in attitude, among our present corrupt politicians”. However, Davao City mayor
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
said that he will allow members of Iglesia ni Cristo to hold a rally in front of the city's Hall of Justice as long as they do not keep the public out.


Catholic Church

The
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...
issued a statement to Catholics said "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," and added that "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,"


Commission on Human Rights

The chairman of the Commission on Human Rights,
Chito Gascon Jose Luis Martin Cosgayon Gascon (; 26 May 1964 – 9 October 2021), also known as Chito Gascon (), was a Filipino lawyer, civil organizer, and human-rights activist. In 2015, he was appointed by then President Benigno S. Aquino III as the Chair ...
, in a text message to the media said that he disagrees with the belief held by the protesters that the DOJ violated the separation of church and state. “separation of Church and State does not arise at all in this instance. This is a matter involving the proper exercise of powers by the Justice department, involving an investigation of a case that may involve violation of law that exempts no one.” Gascon explains. He added that the separation of church and state only ensures that “the State does not favour any particular religion” and that “every person is able to believe and practice faith.” Gascon further added that “On matters of criminal law, the justice system must be allowed to take its due course no matter who may be the perpetrators involved, otherwise, people will ultimately be taking the law or interpretation thereof upon themselves, which would undermine it,” and that the “rule of law” must be secured to ensure human rights.“ No person or institution under our constitutional system can place themselves above or beyond the reach of law,” he added.


Other figures

Former
Akbayan The Akbayan Citizens' Action Party, better known as Akbayan (), is a Democratic socialist, democratic socialist and Progressivism, progressive political party in the Philippines. Akbayan is noted as a leading member of the progressive movement i ...
partylist representative, Walden Bello expressed support to the move of the DOJ to handle the illegal detention case filed by Samson, and condemned politicians who expressed sympathy to the protesters. He also termed the protest as "disruption" of Metro Manila and views it as unacceptable. “If a Roman Catholic priest is accused of sexual exploitation of minors, he would be subject to secular prosecution by the state and would never be allowed to invoke the separation of church and state principle to protect him from prosecution,” Bello reasoned.


Social media

Supporters of De Lima and critics of the protests by Iglesia ni Cristo members made the hashtag #DeLimaBringtheTruth trending with about 138,000 tweets as of evening of August 29. Supporters of the Iglesia ni Cristo also came up with their own hashtags: #IglesianiCristo (19,600 tweets) On Facebook as well as Twitter, netizens expressed displeasure over the actions of the INC members, taking them to task for rallying without permits and for disrupting the flow of traffic. Because the protests were held on a payday that preceded a long holiday weekend, commuters were inconvenienced by trips that took far longer than their usual duration. This was compounded by the mall-wide sales scheduled for that weekend by both Robinson's Galleria and SM Megamall, which further contributed to the traffic jam. When INC members protesting in the streets were interviewed live on why they were protesting, statements such as 'our loved minister told us to' resonated - leading to public opinion branding INC as a
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
. Public hatred towards the Iglesia ni Cristo rose because of the event.


References

{{Iglesia ni Cristo Iglesia ni Cristo protests Iglesia ni Cristo protests Benigno Aquino III administration controversies
2015 protests Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
Iglesia ni Cristo protests 2015 Christianity-related controversies