What they say... July 22 as Erano Manalo day (1991)

"...the twenty-second day of July might well be known as Erano Manalo Day, both a secular and a religious public holiday."

"We will explain to our progeny that it is a day specifically set aside for the nation to acknowledge the great gift of a nationalistic religious sect, which in the nick of time saved millions of poverty-stricken Filipinos from cruel, lingering death at the hands of the multinational oil companies in partnership with a foreign creditors-owned administration."

"We will tell future generations, moreover, that July 22, 1991 was when this nation's most Catholic leadership to date was brought to its knees by a threatened mass action of more than two million Iglesia ni Cristo members and sympathizers, thus confirming that denomination's extraordinary hold on our economic, social and political affairs."
(Rodolfo E. Dula, "Erano Manalo Day", Malaya, July 22, 1991)


"By the same token, we should credit Mister Manalo and the other leaders of the Iglesia for their willingness to listen, their understanding of the government's financial predicament and their flexibility on the few centavos that separated what the government was willing to give from what they demanded."
("A victory for all", Editorial, Manila Standard, July 19, 1991)


"Their backing off from today's protest rally was the right move. It shows that no matter their disagreement with various issues of the present administration, the INC leadership are still concerned about the welfare of the majority of Filipinos."
(Ma. Dulce Reyes, "Women Talk", People's Journal, July 22,1991)


"...the INC had proven its point: that in unity there is strength; that if the followers of the INC can be united and disciplined under one head, why not the entire nation?"

"Also, the INC had served notice to the government and the country's leaders that public service and welfare could be properly dispensed without exorbitant cost and that graft could be weeded out in any institution. The hope for change for the Filipino people can be galvanized and realized if the national and local leaders would emulate the social commitment and institutionalized discipline of the Church of Christ."
(Cesar T. Mella, "Church Militant", Philippine Graphic, August 5, 1991)


"What perhaps served as a safety net for the administration was the decision of the three million strong Iglesia ni Cristo to call off its planned rally. As the group's leader noted, the fuel price cut--an average of P1 per liter--which the administration endorsed,was enough. To be sure, the INC has its own experts, equipped with the right information and data, to arrive at such a conclusion. In the process, the INC was able to maintain its reputation as a group of law abiding, peaceful citizens. God-fearing, reasonable,dependable, hardworking citizens."
("Walking a tight rope", Editorial, The Philippine Star, July 20, 1991)


"There's a lesson somewhere on the triumph of the Iglesia ni Cristo on the issue of oil prices reduction. The INC position was simply stated: the church wanted a 'reasonable' reduction of oil prices. When it was met, INC Executive Minister Erano Manalo called off its mammoth rally. And after that, total silence. No breast-beating,. No post mortem analysis... The INC knows when to talk, and knows when to stop."
(Carlos Monteverde, "Scanner", People's Journal, july 25, 1991)


"The Iglesia rally is simply an endorsement of an almost universal clamor for the rollback of oil prices to the pre-december 1990 level, which means reduction of not less than P7 per liter of gasoline. Manalo believes that his church has a duty not only to secure a better life for his flock, but also to heed the popular clamor for an oil price rollback to give the masses some economic relief in the face of skyrocketing prices of commodities."
(Emil P. Jurado, Manila Standard, July 19, 1991)


"Symbolically, the dentist who pulled out the rotten tooth from the nation's sore mouth is the Iglesia ni Cristo, which has proven the biggest and the strongest homegrown religious sect since its organizer, Felix Manalo preached his apocalyptic vision on the Isla de Punta Sta. Ana in 1914."
(Cesar T. Mella, "Church Militant", Philippine Graphic, August 5, 1991)



source: Pasugo issue July-August 1991
"The Church decided to stage a mammoth rally at the Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila, on July 22, 1991, to appeal to the government to listen to the nationwide clamor for the rollback of the prices of petroleum products and other commodities."

"Numerous organizations from various sectors pledged their support and proposed their participation to the mass action to be led by the church."

"Thus, four days before the mass action, the government reached by presenting a proposal for price reduction. The church then called off its planned rally."

"Executive Minister Erano Manalo 'accepted as reasonable by the government position of oil prices reduction which included substantial reduction of premium and regular gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and fuel oil.' He also stressed that the planned rally was called off 'because the INC understands the financial predicament of the government.'" Editorial