PALAYAN CITY, Philippines – Students began a three-day weekend on Friday when all classes were suspended to make way for thousands of delegates and members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) for its Lingap sa Mamamayan, a medical and dental mission to be conducted in Barangay Maligaya here on Saturday.
Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio Umali declared the suspension of classes in all levels, heeding a police recommendation to keep children at home to help ensure public safety and manage traffic flow during the INC’s activities.
Senior Supt. Crizaldo Nieves, Nueva Ecija police director, said they expected 4,000 INC delegates and members from the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Aurora to attend the mission.
On Feb. 15, INC staged a simultaneous walk for a cause in various parts of the country for the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
In Metro Manila, classes were also suspended and traffic was heavy when the influential INC held a walk for charity for the victims of the typhoon.
Police have been deployed to key areas in Maligaya village while motorist assistance hubs have been put in place in key Nueva Ecija towns to help visiting church members.
Nelson Mañebog, INC district minister in Nueva Ecija, said the medical mission was supported by the Kabayan Ko, Kapatid Ko program of FYM Foundation Inc. and was being mounted here “to help our fellowmen, especially those ravaged by the calamities.”
The mission will provide free medical and dental services, and basic needs like food and clothing, he said.
INC delegates and members began arriving here on Friday dawn. The church said it hoped the event would set a record as the biggest hunger relief mission in a single venue.
Mayor Adrianne Cuevas said she was grateful that INC had selected the city for the “historic delivery of support for the less fortunate.” Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon