The irony seems to have been lost on the organizers and thousands of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members bussed in for the…

The irony seems to have been lost on the organizers and thousands of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members bussed in for the surprise rally at the People Power Monument in Quezon City on Tuesday.

Chanting “Don’t bend the law!,” the rallyists themselves ignored Batas Pambansa No. 880, the Public Assembly Act of 1985, that requires rally organizers to apply for a permit five days before any mass mobilization. With no permit nor coordination with local authorities, there were no alternate routes put in place, resulting in traffic chaos that trapped commuters and motorists for hours on Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare. It’s collateral damage that could have been avoided had the rally been held at the INC-owned Philippine Arena in Bulacan, a bigger venue located away from the more crowded city center.

The disruptive rally was meant to shield INC member Sen. Rodante Marcoleta from the impending filing of a plunder complaint by the Office of the Ombudsman.

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By his own very public admission, the senator acknowledged receiving P75 million from three private individuals before the election campaign period in 2025. Though the Commission on Elections cleared him because of the technicality, Marcoleta had failed to declare the amount in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth. The plunder charge covers even private funds given a sitting public official, the Office of the Ombudsman maintained.

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Bloc voting

Such legal minutiae was however lost in the massive and unannounced mobilization that left authorities helpless to control the thousands suddenly swarming Edsa and INC buses that blocked the roads.

Holding the public hostage to its political agenda was clearly meant to remind authorities of the sect’s political reach and influence that it brazenly flexes through bloc voting. Indeed, the Tuesday rally demonstrated how the INC can summon thousands at a moment’s notice and paint police authorities into a corner with sheer number.

But why the kid-glove treatment of this belligerence when similar rallies by militant groups are often met with harsh measures and violent dispersal? Clearly, the message has gone through: touch us and face electoral reckoning in 2028.

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The call for “Transparency and Accountability” however rings hollow, given the sect’s history of supporting candidates later put on the dock for graft and other serious charges, from former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Rodrigo Duterte, to Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla.

Defense of Discaya couple

And there lies the bigger irony of this affair. While the rally found issue on how others involved in the flood control mess have escaped judicial scrutiny, it also presented Marcoleta as a hero, with INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala disingenuously crediting the senator for leading the exposé on flood control anomalies as chair—very briefly—of the blue ribbon committee.

But the “transparency” bid fails spectacularly given Marcoleta’s opaque actuations during the Senate hearing on the flood control issue. His vigorous defense of the Discaya couple—the controversial contractors behind some of the biggest government contracts—soon unearthed his wife’s connection to the insurance company providing bond coverage for Discaya projects.

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Marcoleta also presented a dubious witness, Marine Sgt. Orly Guteza, who claimed to have delivered luggages of cash to administration officials complicit in flood control deals but who promptly disappeared before he could be questioned.

Marcoleta said the plunder charges are meant to prevent him from participating in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Recall that the sect held a similar Luneta rally in 2025 in a bid to stop the then looming impeachment proceedings against the Vice President over her questionable use of P125 million in confidential funds.

Duterte’s refusal to be held accountable for the funds waters down the INC’s claim about upholding transparency in public office, and betrays where its loyalty lies. Was the Tuesday rally a less than subtle nudge for the government to go easy on the VP?

Deeply troubling

The INC’s selective quest for justice for one of its own is “troubling,” noted the organizers of the much more credible and organic Trillion Peso March against corruption in November 2025: “While public assemblies are a legitimate expression of democratic participation, they become deeply troubling when they are organized primarily to shield a political figure from legal scrutiny, or to project public pressure upon institutions charged with enforcing the law. Such action risks weakening public confidence in the rule of law and creating the dangerous impression that justice depends on political influence rather than legal merit.”

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In the end, the INC’s rallying call is valid and authorities must take it seriously: Don’t bend the law. File charges where merited. Impeach officials based on evidence, apply the law evenly. And, more crucially, exact transparency and accountability from those in power no matter their faith and the multitude behind them.