Comelec’s Garcia backs INC Peace rally: ‘Iwasang maging epalitiko’
Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members intend to join the INC’s National Rally for Peace at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Jan. 13, 2025. (Photo from INQUIRER.net / FAITH ARGOSINO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia on Monday expressed his support for the objective of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) rally.
Garcia made the statement on Monday as members of the INC began to gather at the Quirino Grandstand on Monday morning in Manila for the afternoon event.
The religious sect’s “National Rally for Peace” is being held as an expression of support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s opposition to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Isang pagsasama sama para sa pananampalataya at pagkakaisa po ito. Kasapi po tayo sa kapatiran ng Iglesia sa kanilang napakabuting hangarin,” Garcia told reporters in a Viber message.
(This gathering is for faith and unity. We are one with the Iglesia brotherhood for its very good cause.)
Article continues after this advertisement“Hindi dapat sinasamantala ng ilan para sa pansariling kapakanan. Iwasang maging epalitiko,” he also said.
Article continues after this advertisement(A few people should not take advantage of it for their own gain. Avoid being an “epalitiko.”)
“Epalitiko” comes from the combination of words “epal,” which refers to a person who inappropriately presents himself in a situation or butts into a conversation, and “politiko,” meaning politician.
As of 9:00 a.m., the Manila Public Information Office said an estimated crowd of 701,145 filled the streets of Ermita and the grandstand grounds.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority previously said as many as one million supporters are expected to attend the rally.
They were ferried by several thousand vans and buses, which parked along main thoroughfares in Manila, causing heavy traffic.
Palace suspended the classes in Manila and Pasay in anticipation of this event.
