3,000 troops to secure Iglesia centennial

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines– More than 3,000 police personnel have been deployed for the centennial celebration of the Iglesia ni Cristo tomorrow, which is expected to draw at least one million INC members to Ciudad de Victoria in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado said police officers would help manage traffic and secure the safety of delegates and their vehicles that would be parked in selected parts of the province.

This is because event organizers will transport delegates to Ciudad de Victorian from different pick-up points in Bulacan and Metro Manila. Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta said at least 10 parking areas are designated for INC members.

Among the pick-up points and parking areas are Malolos City’s central terminal and the parking area of Malolos City Sport Center, the Sta. Maria bypass and Balagtas bypass along MacArthur Highway from Monumento to Calumpit and a portion of the Mindanao Avenue Extension.

“We are expecting more than 12,000 buses and other vans to bring the participants to the venue which will entail queuing of buses entering and going to designated parking areas in different main thoroughfares of Bulacan,” Petrasanta said.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, meanwhile, issued special permits to the buses that will transport INC members, subject to the terms and conditions of Task Force Sentenaryo and the INC, LTFRB chairman Winston Ginez said. The permits will be valid from July 25 to Aug. 2.

Ginez also said that it has come to the LTFRB’s attention that a number of bus operators are taking advantage of the situation by raising their rates in anticipation of the event. He vowed that the LTFRB “will not tolerate any kind of increase more than the rates operators charged their other clients.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, through the Northern Luzon Command, will also send additional military personnel and equipment together with the Joint Task Force headed by General Manuel Gonzales.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), for its part, formed the 2,000-strong Metro Manila Public Safety Legion that will be deployed to Bocaue to help maintain peace and order and do post-activity cleanup at the site.

The MMDA also launched the mobile application “INC Sentenaryo App” that will provide motorists up-to-date traffic reports on North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and all roads leading to and adjacent to the INC gathering, said MMDA Chairman and Task Force Sentenaryo head Francis Tolentino.With Mike Frialde, Reinir Padua, Ric Sapnu, Evelyn Macairan