VOL. XXIX NO. 199 3 Sections 24 Pages P18 SUNDAY : AUGUST 30, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph
BELMONTE SHOOTS DOWN VAT HIKE PLAN
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IGLESIA PRESSES CALL FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM By Francisco Tuyay and Sara D. Fabunan
IGLESIA ni Cristo protesters who gathered at the Edsa Shrine in Quezon City moved overnight to the intersection of Shaw Boulevard and Epifanio delos Santos Avenue after Mandaluyong City issued the church a permit to stage a rally for religious freedom until Sunday. While the number of protesters had thinned by dawn Saturday, the number of protesters at the Shaw intersection is estimated to have reached about 20,000 around midnight Friday although Mandaluyong police chief Senior Superintendent Tyrone Masigon estimated the crowd at 4,500. The crowd included the more than 4,000 who started the protest in front of the Department of Justice in Ermita, Manila on Thursday, 2,000 at the Edsa Next page
DOJ CHIEF MUM AMID BRICKBATS
By Francisco Tuyay
FOR the second day, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima remained silent in the face of questions why she was supposedly “inordinately interested” in a case involving an expelled minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo when her office had many other more important cases. Former congressman Rodante Marcoleta challenged De Lima to explain why she was “unusually interested” in the illegal detention complaint expelled INC minister Isaias Samson Jr. filed against Iglesia leaders. Next page
MOBILE PROTEST. From the Department of Justice to the Edsa Shrine, members of the Iglesia ni Cristo again moved
their protest for religious freedom to the intersection of Shaw Boulevard and Epifanio delos Santos Avenue after Mandaluyong City granted them a permit to rally. The protesters said they should not be blamed for traffic congestion because it was already a problem even before their rally. EY ACASIO
SILENCE OF THE ACCUSED. Protesters hold up a streamer saying in Tagalog ‘De Lima meddler.’ FRANKIE TUYAY