Iglesia Ni Cristo rally crowd peaked at around 15,500 —QCPD

The crowd estimate at the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) rally staged Tuesday at the People Power Monument peaked at around 15,500, recorded at 7 p.m. by the Quezon City Police District.

Based on the record of the QCPD, the crowd has dropped to 12,000 at 9:25 p.m., and then to 8,000 at 10 p.m.

Following the approval of INC’s rally permit on Wednesday, July 1, the QCPD foresees all lanes at EDSA to be passable.

“Yes po, yun po ‘yung nakasaad doon sa permit nila na no total closure of the roads bukas, unlike ngayon na meron pong dalawang lanes na inoccupy nila,” QCPD Public Information Office Chief P/Maj. Jennifer Gannaban said.

“So hopefully bukas, mawala lahat yan [at maging] tuloy-tuloy na po yung daloy ng trapiko,” she added.

As indicated in the permit issued by the Quezon City (QC) government, the INC rally is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and must only be held along White Plains Avenue - Temple Drive.

The QC Department of Public Order and Safety said the rally’s non-compliance with the given guidelines will result in the revocation of its clearance.

We will stay

Michael Angelo Rentazida, 33, arrived at the rally site as early as 3 a.m. with his father, wife, and friends.

“Siguro hanggang matapos ‘tong pagtitipon na to, andito pa rin kami,” Rentazida shared to GMA News Online.

(I think we’ll stay here until the rally ends.)

He said they started commuting from their residence located in Novaliches at around 2 a.m.

He added that if the rally extends to Wednesday, they might go home for a while to check on their children.

In solidarity with their organization, Rentazida said they attended the demonstration to call for accountability for the corruption in the government.

“Panawagan na rin ng pamamahala namin—pakikiisa, para matapos na ‘tong nakawan na to,” Rentazida said.

(In solidarity with the calls of our leaders, [we joined] to stop this corruption.)

“Sana matapos na to. Sana mahuli na [at] managot na ang dapat managot.”

(I hope all of this ends. I hope they all get caught and be held accountable.)

Fely Dawag, a senior citizen aged 68, said she attended the rally in solidarity with their leadership.

Dawag told GMA News Online that she arrived at the People Power Monument at 7 p.m. to avoid the heat of the sun.

“Gusto namin makiisa sa pamamahala namin para ipaglaban ‘yung mga nangyayari ngayon na—mapanagot ‘yung mga nandaraya sa mga kababayan natin,” Dawag said.

(We want to join our leadership in fighting for what is happening now—to hold accountable those who are cheating our fellow citizens.)

Dawag shared that she went with her friends and churchmates and plans to go home once she gets tired or if it starts to rain.

GMA News Online sought interviews with other attendees, but they declined, stating that they were “prohibited from being interviewed.” —LDF, GMA News