Lining up to buy dinner, I was the only person not wearing white in this Chowking branch along Roxas Boulevard, Manila. Everyone dutifully came in the standard Iglesia ni Cristo uniform, labeled “Transparency for a Better Democracy,” for today’s rally.
While waiting for our news team’s siopao-and-Coke order (Order No. 117), I took one of the few empty seats and spoke to a family from Santa Rosa, Laguna (Order No. 120) as they waited too.
The 63-year-old family patriarch, who refused to be named, said they booked hotel rooms for two days and three nights. What dedication, I thought.
“Even if we are members of Iglesia ni Cristo, we are also Filipinos who are affected by anomalies in our country,” he told me in Filipino.
He said they are not necessarily anti-Marcos — the Bible, after all, teaches that they should respect the government — but they can refuse to follow leaders who are proven to be “evil.” I did not fully understand his point, but took it as is.
His 30-year-old daughter-in-law, who claimed their orders in multiple plastic bags, said she took a leave from work to attend the three-day rally. She is a paralegal, and her lawyer-boss is also an INC member.
When I asked about perceptions that INC members were “brainwashed” to attend this rally, she smiled and quickly replied. “Ay hindi po, kusang loob po ito (Oh no, this is voluntary),” she said, as they walked away with their Chinese food. (I already had ours too.)
