Biz Buzz: What Iglesia meant by ‘separation’ of church and state

By now, most people have heard of the government’s side regarding the large protest action staged by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) religious sect from Thursday to Monday that inconvenienced thousands of motorists and commuters.

What remains unclear, however—apart from a cryptic official statement made by the group’s spokesperson and the placards carried by its protesting members—is what really led the politically influential church to order its members out into the streets.

Biz Buzz spoke to sources both within the INC and outside it to piece together the series of events that led to last weekend’s vehicular traffic-paralyzing street protest.

This all started with the rise to power of INC’s current executive minister Eduardo Manalo, who succeeded his father, the late Eraño Manalo, in 2010.

As with most changes in leadership, the younger Manalo had his own inner circle, resulting in the exclusion of some formerly influential senior members from this elite group. The grumbling led to a full-blown schism in recent weeks.

According to the INC source, some officials of the ruling Liberal Party were aware of this internal rift and decided to “exploit” it in an effort to weaken the bloc voting strength of the group.

“Angel Manalo (Eduardo’s younger brother) was out of the power loop, along with a few others,” the source said. “What some administration people did was approach the disgruntled members and urge them to go against the leadership.”

The goal of this move is supposed to weaken the INC, “which they knew would never support Mar Roxas (the administration’s bet for the 2016 polls),” the source said. “So how do you neutralize INC’s power? By breaking it up.”

The source said this move by the administration “or its allies” was inspired by a historical precedent, which he called “the greatest crisis in INC’s history.”

The INC insider said the administration’s template was a 1930s-era schism within the then nascent church led by a minister, Teofilo Ora. This rebellion obviously failed, but  Ora was able to bring with him some members and set up the “Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus”—a small group that still exists today.

“They thought that they could use the internal dissent in INC to foster another rebellion like what happened in the 1930s,” the source said, explaining that this “intrusion” by the government in the church’s internal affairs is what the group decried when they urged the “separation of church and state.”

“It wasn’t communicated clearly to the public what INC meant when they asked that the separation of church and state be respected because we couldn’t exactly reveal all that to the public just like that,” he said. “But that’s the background of this whole thing.”

The INC member said they suspected further intrusions by the government into its internal affairs when they received information that Angel Manalo and former minister Isias Samson Jr. were being urged to speak out against the church’s leadership.

“Angel Manalo’s life in danger from his own brother? Nonsense,” the source said, adding the kidnapping charges against the members of the church hierarchy was yet another attempt to sway INC’s 1.2-million bloc voting members to support the administration candidate.

Thus, last Wednesday night, the INC’s Sanggunian—its highest policymaking body—decided to order its members out into the streets to protest this so-called intrusion by the government.

Of course, this whole story is being told from the point of view of the INC, so it is completely understandable if church outsiders would have a different take on things.
As  for the supposed “deal” that led to the INC to call off its protest last Monday, only time will tell what really transpired in its discussions with the government.–Daxim L. Lucas

No middle ground

As the debate over the opening of a new gate in Ayala Alabang Village continues to heat up ahead of a referendum sought by the village association, the subdivision’s developer Ayala Land Inc. has proposed a middle ground in a bid to resolve the dispute among residents: it has agreed to open the gate, but only in cases of emergency.

To recall, many residents living close to the proposed new San Jose gate vehemently opposed the move, citing heightened security risks and noting that improving traffic no longer justifies the opening of such gate.

But other residents believe that another gate connecting to the Filinvest road network is still needed to ease traffic congestion and to allow residents access to an alternative route, such as when there is a need to bring the sick to the hospital faster.

“If the community feels that an emergency gate is critical, then provided such a gate shall be strictly used for defined emergencies and shall be governed by a formal and enforceable agreement between the Ayala Alabang Village Association (AAVA) and ALI, which in turn shall be approved by the residents of AAVA through a referendum, then we are hopeful that those opposing the proposed gate may reconsider their position,” ALI managing director Jose Juan Jugo said in a letter to AAVA president Epifanio Joaquin dated Aug. 14.

Jugo added that such “life-threatening situations need to be clearly defined and the proposed gate shall be operated in relation to such.”

ALI, for its part, still wants the community to let the newly opened Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) take its full effect before concluding that traffic along Commerce Avenue is worsening.  Citing several reports, Jugo said since MCx’s opening, traffic along Commerce had actually improved.

The proposed middle ground isn’t taking off, however, as the barangay—which was set to buy from Filinvest the adjacent 2,000-square meter on the other side of the proposed gate—has shot down the proposal. In a bulletin in August, barangay chief Ruben Baes said the purchase of a P54-million road lot to be used only during times of emergencies may be perceived by the Commission on Audit as an “excessive, extravagant and unnecessary expenditure” of government funds.

With no middle ground yet in sight, the big emotional debate goes on.–Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

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