Church and State

They're still talking about that huge rally the Iglesia ni Cristo had in EDSA. The traffic jam was one for the ages. Traffic seems to be the only thing people in Manila ever talk about. From street traffic to foot traffic to congestion on the rail system...

Gotta hand it to the INC, they sure know how to twist the screws but how did it come to this?

To those not in the know, I'll summarize. The INC is a powerful homegrown religious sect known for its habit of bloc voting. Since the INC's members are very obedient to their church leaders, whoever courts the INC's favor is guaranteed a chunk of votes. As a result, the INC is powerful and government officials are reluctant to step on their toes.

Recently, certain problems within the INC's leadership became public. Some of its ministers were allegedly detained illegally. The facts are murky but from whatever little one can gather, it seems some of its leaders didn't agree with the group spending a large amount of money building some megachurch or something somewhere.

The government decided to investigate the alleged illegal detention and here we are. The INC is throwing a fit claiming that it's being unfairly targeted. The INC decided to hold a rally in one of the busiest thoroughfares of Manila, a move no doubt calculated to piss as many people off as possible.

It is quite ironic that one of the rallying cries of the INC was the call for the government to respect the "separation of church and state". It's quite hypocritical for a group that doesn't hesitate to use it's influence on the government, to champion such a principle. Anyway, separation of church and state... The constitution mentions it but doesn't explain exactly what it is. Case law explains that our understanding of separation of church and state comes from American jurisprudence. The details are lengthy, but it boils down to two things: the state cannot establish its own religion and the state cannot prohibit the free exercise thereof.

I fail to see the logic behind INC's complaints. How is the government investigating a crime a violation of church and state? Is it somehow depriving their free exercise of religion? Does that mean kidnapping is a sacred ritual for the INC?

Nah, it's simple. It's all political as usual. I'm disgusted at such a brazen show of force by the INC. Usually, their mass actions and political muscle flexing have a thin veneer of legitimacy to them such as celebrating the anniversary of their founding or some other significant event. What happened over the weekend was a naked power play; there was nothing noble about it. The INC claims it worked out a deal with the government. The government swiftly denied such claim but the whole thing stinks like a rotting rat corpse already. Nothing new here, just the government conspiring against the people as usual.

Glad I don't live in Manila.