MALOLOS
CITY—The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) se two new Guinness World records as it
celebrated its centennial at the Ciudad De Victoria complex in
Bocaue, Bulacanon July 27.
As
this developed, northbound lane of the North Luzon Expressway was completely
blocked on Sunday morning, while on the southbound lane where two
counterflow lanes were opened vehicle speed is reduced to less than 20
kilometers per hour before noon time.
Task
Force Sentenaryo head Francis Tolentino, the chair of the Metro Manila
Development Authority (MMDA) estimated that at least 2-Million members of the
religious organization participated in the centennial celebrations at the
Ciudad de Victoria.
Millions
other members of the INC across the country and more than 100 countries watched
Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo’s homily via live streaming video.
According
to Edwil Zabala, INC spokesperson, the Guinness Book of Book of Records handed
two new awards to the religious organization.
This
includes the world’s largest gospel choir, and the largest mixed indoor arena
in the world.
Based
on records, at least 4,774 members of the INC joined its centennial choir
yesterday.
It
eclipsed the previous record of 1,700 choir member held by the United States.
The
INC said that a total of 10,000 members prepared to joined the choir, but some
members did not make it on time due to heavy traffic in going to the Ciudad the
Victoria.
Traffic
along the NLEX started late Saturday afternoon which delayed northbound
motorists.
Some
bus passengers interviewed late Saturday night said that it took
them two hours to reach Malolos City from Balintawak toll plaza in Quezon City.
Hundreds
of thousands of people started to gather at the Ciudad de Victoria on Saturday
afternoon, and endured the heavy downpour
early Saturday evening but were treated with a 25-minute fireworks
display before midnight.
The
traffic went from bad to worst until noon time on Sunday as the northbound lane
of the NLEX from Marilao to Bocaue toll plaza was complete blocked.
This
is due to buses and private vehicles parked along the NLEX’s northbound
lane. Some of the vehicles were towed
earlier for illegal parking.
However,
by morning, Tolentino implemented a contingency plan by opening a
two-lane counterflow on the NLEX southbound lane.
Before
10 AM, traffic flow on the counterflow lane was still good, but as
more INC members depart from the Ciudad de Victoria, vehicle movements on the
counterflow lane and the southbound lane was reduced to less than 20 kilometer
per hour.
Tolentino
said that traffic along the NLEX might last until Monday morning as INC members
depart from the venue of the centennial celebrations.
As
this developed, Bro. Eduardo Manalo hailed the INC’s phenomenal growth in
the last 100 years.
In
his homily, Manalo said that from 2009 to 2014, a total of 603 new INC churches
were built, of which, 552 are in the Philippines, while the rest were built
abroad.
The
executive minster also said that 359 other churches went under renovation
within the same period. Dino Balabo