(Eagle News) — Members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) started their march outside the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday to protest what they called the agency’s meddling into the internal affairs of the church.
This, along with the supposed “special treatment” given by Justice Secretary Leila De Lima in the filing of the illegal detention case against the INC’s Church Council, also known as the Sanggunian, was the focus of their protests.
The crowd as of late Thursday afternoon was estimated to be at least a thousand. This is still expected to at least double in number over the next few hours. The INC members in front of the DOJ stressed their displeasure and disgust over the “unusual personal attention” of De Lima for expelled INC minister and complainant Isaias Samson, Jr., who tagged the Sanggunian as responsible for his and his family’s alleged ‘house arrest’ before.
Samson had since been expelled from the INC for not following the Church administration.
“Ang gusto lang namin ay wag makialam ang DOJ sa pagdidisiplinang ginagawa ng Iglesia Ni Cristo sa mga miyembro nito. Ito ay internal nang usapin,” one of the INC rallyists said.
They insisted that the DOJ should observe the constitutional provision on the separation of the Church and State.
The INC members trooped in front of the DOJ beginning Thursday afternoon, bringing placards and asking the DOJ chief to attend to more important and pressing matters such as bringing to justice those killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Two of the 44 troopers massacred there on Jan. 25 were members of the INC.
On Wednesday, the INC had issued an official statement asking the DOJ to give the same vigorous attention and handling to the case of the victims of the Mamasapano tragedy.
“In other words, the action of the Department of Justice should be fair and without bias,” the INC statement said.
The INC members who were among the soldiers killed in Mamasapano were identified as Police Officer 2 Nicky D.C. Nacino Jr., and Police Officer 2 Ephraim Mejia.
