Closing QC road, Iglesia activity draws 150K

WHEN WORSHIP TAKES SPACE Neatly arranged chairs await worshippers and close a section of Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Friday for the Lingap Pamamahayag evangelical mission of the influential Iglesia ni Cristo, which is currently building a church in the area. RICHARD A. REYES

A road closure to make room for an Iglesia ni Cristo activity slowed traffic in Quezon City and resulted in minor vehicular mishaps along Commonwealth Avenue late Friday.

A portion of the Fairview-bound side of the highway, from Sandiganbayan to Litex, was closed to traffic for the religious group’s Lingap Pamamahayag which, like past INC projects, was held in a public space.

Part of the opposite lane was used for counterflow traffic.

At press time, City Hall’s public order and safety chief Elmo San Diego said at least four minor accidents had been reported on Commonwealth, where the bottleneck had formed, with vehicles “sideswiping each other because they won’t give way.”

Superintendent Ely Pintang, head of the Quezon City Police District’s Traffic Enforcement Unit, said traffic flow for the rest of Commonwealth was moving smoothly.

Pintang estimated the crowd to be at 150,000 as of early Friday night. The INC held the activity in front of a new church which is still under construction on Commonwealth.