Pols attend ‘Jesus is Lord’ 32nd anniversary fete at Luneta

Politicians and heads of various religious groups attended the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Movement’s 32nd anniversary celebration on Friday night, which was held on the same site where the August 23 Manila hostage tragedy took place. Present during the event were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Laguna Rep. Justin Mark Chipeco, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali, several other party-list representatives and local government officials. JIL founder Bro. Eddie Villanueva, who lost his presidential bid during the May 2010 elections, also led participants in praying for the eight Hong Kong tourists who lost their lives during the bloody hostage-taking two months ago. (See: Massacre in nation's heart: Timeline of Manila bus siege) “Let the curse be broken in our land," Villanueva said during the event, in reference to the hostage tragedy. Several Roman Catholic Church officials, including Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, and leaders of other evangelist groups were also present during JIL’s anniversary celebration. During the event, Kalinga party-list Rep. Abegail Ferriol read a House resolution commending JIL for its 32 years of “service" to Filipinos. The JIL movement boasts of 7 million members in 44 countries around the world. Last year, the group had to forego their anniversary celebration in deference to calls for the country to focus on recovering from the devastation caused by tropical cyclones “Ondoy" and “Pepeng" in many areas of Luzon. (See: JIL calls off 31st anniversary celebration for 'Ondoy' victims)—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV