The first day of the Iglesia ni Cristo’s massive rally at Luneta in Manila ended on a calm note. Despite the enormous crowd, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the atmosphere stayed generally peaceful.
But behind that calm, the government remained fully prepared—ready to respond to any threat, especially from groups that may attempt to disrupt public order.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla gave this assurance on Sunday after personally inspecting the site with Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Anthony Aberin.
“We saw that the INC kept their promise,” Remulla shared, noting that the gathering at Quirino Grandstand stayed quiet and orderly.
By 4 p.m. Sunday, the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office recorded 314,000 attendees at Luneta. Hours later, the crowd peaked at around 650,000, according to their official Facebook update.
For INC general evangelist Bienvenido Santiago Jr., the message of their three-day rally is clear:
This is a call to end corruption in flood control projects — not a move to topple the government.
Remulla said authorities applied all “lessons learned” from the Sept. 21 anti-corruption rally, which previously resulted in violent clashes, 216 arrests, and injuries to 95 police officers. That incident also left public and private properties damaged.
Now, the PNP is determined not to let that happen again.
“It’s better to overreact than underreact. Better to be overprepared than underprepared,” Remulla stressed.
So far, no untoward incidents have been reported. Still, he emphasized that security remains tight, especially given the size of the gathering.
“When crowds like this gather, it’s normal for Malacañang’s security protocol to go on high alert. We are showing that the PNP and BFP are ready for anything,” he said.
But Remulla also issued a stern warning — not just to protesters, but to anyone hoping to cause trouble.
“We don’t want destabilization. We want a peaceful rally calling for truth and justice. That’s what the people deserve,” he said firmly.
He urged parents to guide their children and keep them away from unruly groups.
“I posted a warning on the DILG Facebook page,” he noted. “Tell your children not to join these ‘geng-geng’ or ‘gangsta’ groups.”
Remulla ended with a strong message:
Any group attempting to cause destabilization will face the full force of the law.
