INC leader laid to rest

abs-cbnNEWS.com 09/07/2009 12:40 PM

MANILA - There was no necrological service, no eulogy, no Mass, no extravagant ceremony.

It was simple and solemn, although there was a 21-gun salute befitting a state leader who had passed away.

This was how "Ka Erdy," the leader of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) was laid to rest at 12:15 pm on Monday in a temporary burial site in the Tabernacle of the INC Central Temple in Tandang Sora, Quezon City His remains will be transferred to a mausoleum that is being built beside a monument of his father, Brother Felix Manalo, founder of INC in the Philippines.

Although there was no eulogy, those who paid their respects, regardless of whether they were INC members or not, rich or poor, were full of praise for Ka Erdy.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo again came to pay her last respects and left after 30 minutes.

Many leaders from the provinces came to pay their respects to Ka Erdy, who was instrumental in making the INC a powerful force.

The discipline Ka Erdy instilled among his followers was clearly seen in his orderly interment.
Ka Erdy, 84, led the INC for 46 years.

Hundreds of thousands of INC followers had been trooping to the INC Central Temple to bid farewell to their leader following his death last August 31 from cardio-pulmonary arrest.
Malacañang declared September 7 a special non-working holiday in honor of Manalo.

More than 100 buses from various provinces brought thousands of INC followers to its Central Temple for the interment.

Around 5,000 who could not be accommodated inside the Central Temple waited outside and watched the ceremony from a large monitor.

Some of those who paid their last respects came from abroad, including from Saudi Arabia.
As of posting, a huge portion of Commonwealth Avenue was closed to traffic, but will be reopened later in the day.

About 2,000 policemen were deployed to the area to provide security to mourners.
No shifts seen with 'Ka Eddie'

There will be no major shifts on how the INC is charting itself, spiritually and politically, with the death of Ka Erdy.

As a religious group, its teachings, practices and values are etched on solid ground, but the highly disciplined Christian sect, known for its bloc-voting practice in elections, might adopt a more objective political view with the change of leadership.

Manalo's son, Eduardo "Ka Eddie Boy," 54, is expected to carry the torch and the family legacy.
The elder Manalo himself assumed as executive minister of the INC also after the death of his father, Felix, who founded the religious organization on July 27, 1914.

Sources close to the inner circle of Ka Erdy said the late religious leader had been grooming the younger Manalo for years, just like what Felix did to his son a generation ago.
Eduardo has been the INC's deputy executive minister, or the "pangalawang tagapamahalang pangkalahatan," and his assumption as his father's successor will be just a formality, said an INC member.

Ka Erdy was credited for expanding the church internationally. It was during his term that the INC became a major political force with its estimated 2-3 million bloc-voting members. -- with reports from Aries Rufo, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak; Anthony Taberna, Zyann Ambrosio, Jorge Cariño, ABS-CBN News

as of 09/07/2009 4:26 PM