Expelled minister casts doubt on Iglesia ni Cristo’s political clout

The expelled minister who filed criminal complaints against some of the leaders of the Iglesia ni Cristo has cast doubt on the supposed political influence of the religious group after it mobilized just 20,000 at its EDSA rallies over the weekend.

Isaias Samson Jr., who filed the cases that had triggered the Iglesia ni Cristo protests at the Department of Justice compound late last week and at two points on EDSA over the weekend, said the group's hierarchy had to bus in members from the provinces.

The supposed thousands of protesters on EDSA still managed to cripple traffic on the national highway even on a Sunday.

"You can just imagine, one million ang member ng Church dito pa lang sa Metro Manila. Why did they have to resort na ipadala pa ang mga galing sa probinsya? As I was told, their attendance was even checked tapos ang naipon lang ay thousands," Samson told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

"Are they still influential? Sa mga politiko, kung ito lang naipon at halos pilitin ang mga miyembro, nagdala pa ng mga bata at matatanda, what's 20,000? Dati hindi naman kailangan pilitin ang Iglesia eh," Samson added.

National candidates are known to court the Iglesia ni Cristo, which is reputed to be a solid voting bloc. The National Statistics Office (NSO) estimated Iglesia ni Cristo membership at 2.25 million in 2010.

Samson said the Iglesia ni Cristo remains "solid" only during worship and missions, as some of its followers have already expressed resentment, albeit silently, against their leaders.

"Andun pa rin ang pagmamahalan pero divided na ang opinion nila sa Sanggunian, inaantay lang nila na may kumilos laban dito," Samson said.

Iglesia ni Cristo spokesman Edwil Zabala has yet to return calls asking for the group's comments on Samson's claims.

Zabala, however, claimed on Sunday that there were more demonstrators on EDSA than what the PNP was saying in its crowd estimates.

The group held a five-day protest against Justice Secretary Leila de Lima's supposed meddling in the internal affairs of the Church following the criminal complaint filed against its officials.

Samson, who was former editor-in-chief of Iglesia's official publication Pasugo accused the respondents of harassment, illegal detention, threats and coercion of him and his family.

'At a loss'

The expelled minister also called on Secretary De Lima and President Benigno Aquino III to disclose what transpired during the meetings between the government and Iglesia leaders.

Interior Secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas II earlier said that the government quietly held meetings with Church leaders while the protests were being held.

"We're not sure [if there was an arrangement]. We're trying to find out because the Sangguninan is saying that they won. They actually had a victory prayer last night sa houses of worship," Samson said.

He said they were still "at a loss," even as a spokesperson for Malacanang had already denied that there was a deal struck with Iglesia.

He said Iglesia leaders had three demands from the government: one is for President Aquino to step down, another for De Lima to resign from the DOJ, and for the illegal detention charges to be dismissed.

"I'm just hoping that there was no arrangement," Samson said.

He said the only solution to the Iglesia crisis is for the members of the Sanggunian to step down. —NB/JST, GMA News