CLASSES and government work in Manila and Pasay will be suspended on Monday, Jan. 13, to give way for the nationwide “peace rally” organized by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), Malacañang has announced.
Private offices were given the discretion to suspend onsite operations on that day.
UST had earlier announced the shift to the enriched virtual mode of instruction and remote work in its Sampaloc campus on Jan. 13, but the Malacañang pronouncement superseded this decision.
Regular enrollment for Term 2 will run from Jan. 10 to 12, while late enrollment is until Jan. 17.
Dubbed the “National Rally for Peace,” the INC event will be held simultaneously in various cities nationwide, including Manila.
Participants from the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon will convene at the Quirino Grandstand instead of the previously announced Liwasang Bonifacio.
The announcement of the rally followed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s statement discouraging lawmakers from acting on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, emphasizing the need to focus on more pressing national issues.
Since December, three impeachment complaints have been filed against Duterte by lawmakers and civic groups, citing alleged violations of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and graft and corruption.
The rally is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of members of INC and other religious groups that share the advocacy.
Similar INC-led rallies will be held in locations including Legazpi (Albay), Ilagan (Isabela), and Puerto Princesa (Palawan) in Luzon; Cebu, Iloilo, and Bacolod (Negros Occidental) in Visayas; and Davao, Pagadian (Zamboanga del Sur), Butuan (Agusan del Norte), and Cagayan de Oro (Misamis Oriental) in Mindanao.