The Day the Earth Stood Still, aftermath

The Iglesia ni Cristo, which is celebrating its 95th anniversary on Monday, announced Thursday it will hold huge religious assemblies in 14 venues around the country and in five sites in four other countries.

In Metro Manila, the gatherings will be held at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, and at the Rizal Memorial Complex in Manila.

In the provinces, delegates will assemble at the following venues: Butuan City Sports Complex in Agusan del Norte; Bicol University Sports Complex and Commencement grounds in Legazpi City, Albay; Cebu Sports Center in Cebu City;

General Santos City Oval Plaza, South Cotabato; Davao Agro-Industrial Institute Football Field in Davao City; Quirino Stadium in Bantay, Ilocos Sur; Central Integrated Terminal in Santiago City, Isabela; Ashton Field Subdivision grounds in Calamba City, Laguna;

Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Villa del Sol Subdivision-Olongapo-Gapan Road in San Fernando City, Pampanga; Narciso Ramos Sports Center in Lingayen, Pangasinan; and Ipil Sports Complex in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga-Sibugay.

Gatherings will also be held at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. and HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, USA; Central Hall Westminster in London, UK; Parco Esposizioni Novegro in Milan, Italy; and Hills Center in Sydney, Australia.

The rest of the local congregations in the Philippines which are too far from the announced venues, as well as congregations in countries outside of the US, UK, Italy and Australia will also hold celebratory gatherings in their respective houses of worship simultaneously with the big assemblies.

Authorities advised the public yesterday that Roxas Boulevard and other roads in Malate, Manila shall be closed to traffic the whole day tomorrow to give way to delegates expected to attend the 95th anniversary celebration of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) at the Rizal Memorial Complex.

The United States embassy, which is along Roxas Boulevard, said it will suspend visa interviews and issuances tomorrow.

Traffic has snarled for at least six hours Monday due to a buildup of vehicles traveling along the southbound lane of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), an employee of the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) said.

The heavy traffic began at around 9:17 a.m. at the Cabuyao exit due to a convoy of about 300 vehicles attending the Iglesia ni Cristo’s 95th anniversary celebration in Calamba City Monday afternoon, PNCC radio operator Rudy Lidris said in a phone interview.

On Saturday, the two government agencies said they were suspending classes not only due to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (SONA) but also for the national observance of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) Day.

It was estimated that 500,000 well-wishers and guests are expected to congregate on July 27 at Villa Del Sol in this city to celebrate the 95th founding anniversary of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), the “Church of Christ.”

More than a million well-wishers and delegations from the six provinces in Central Luzon gathered at Villa Del Sol in this city on Monday and paralyzed the traffic flow along the stretch of Gapan-Olongapo road from Prado Saba, Lubao, to Santa Ana town as they celebrated the 95th founding anniversary of Iglesia Ni Cristo.

The church members came here onboard the 20,000 buses and public utility vehicles hired by the church administration to bring them to the gathering.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) deployed 360 police officers to man security and traffic flow with the assistance of some 3,000 Society of Communicators and Networkers (SCAN) who are also members of the church.

The church members walked several kilometers from Mexico town to Villa del Sol; while those who came from Lubao, Porac, Sasmuan, Bataan and Zambales, walked from Guagua to the venue.