Mammoth INC rally calls for peace, unity

More than a million members of religious sect Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) gathered in a rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila yesterday to call for peace and unity amid steps to unseat Vice President Sara Duterte through impeachment.

- Ghio Ong, Pia Lee-Brago, Jun Elias, Gerry Lee Gorit, Edith Regalado, Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Emmanuel Tupas

Exceeding authorities' earlier projections of 500,000 to one million people, crowds wearing white shirts and carrying banners calling for unity flocked to the venue for the "national rally for peace."

The sect opposes moves to impeach Duterte, a former ally of President Marcos, in the House of Representatives.

"There are many more things which our citizens need that must be attended to. These will not be achieved if all we see taking place is conflict," INC spokesman Edwil Zabala said ahead of the rally.

Schools and government offices in Manila, Pasay and Quezon City were suspended and major roads surrounding the vicinity were closed for the event, as police estimated that 1.6 million people had gathered at the venue.

More than 5,000 police officers were deployed, National Capital Region Police Office officer-in-charge Maj. Myrna Diploma told Agence France-Presse.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority deployed 1,300 personnel to perform duties such as traffic management and garbage collection during the rally.

Edwin Nasol, vice president for disaster preparedness and emergency response of Society of Communicators and Networkers (SCAN) International, said 17,000 emergency first responders from INC were deployed to ensure safety.

They were supported by 120 personnel from the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, who worked alongside two light urban search and rescue teams from the Philippine Army's 525th Engineer Combat Battalion.

Duterte is facing three impeachment cases, which accuse her of misusing millions in public funds and of plotting to have Marcos assassinated. She has denied the allegations.

Similar events were scheduled at a dozen locations across the country, according to Zabala.