The threat of Malacanang to use police powers to close down churches that will defy the order prohibiting mass religious gatherings in Metro Manila and nearby provinces failed to unfaze a Catholic prelate.
In an interview, Archdiocese of Manila Apostolic Administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said 10 percent of church capacity is not a "mass gathering."
"No fear about Malacanang. Diyan lang naman sila magaling - magbigay ng threats (That's the only thing they are good at - to give threats)," Pabillo said.
On Tuesday, the prelate issued a pastoral instruction for Holy Week saying the archdiocese will have religious worship within 10 percent of the maximum church capacity starting March 24.
"We follow the minimum standards of the health protocols but we continue to pray and worship the Lord,” he said.
“Let the worshippers be spread apart within our churches, using the health protocols that we have been so consistently implementing,” Pabillo added.
The prelate, however, prohibited any religious activity outside the churches such as senakulo, pabasa, procession, motorcades, and visita iglesia.
In a separate interview with Radio Veritas, Pabillo explained that the decision to open the church or not still depends on local parishes.
"It depends on the priests and pastoral leaders if they can open in their place," he said.
Pabillo said Manila priests already met on Tuesday and agreed to issue a clarificatory note on the matter.
"Because that is not a defiance of the IATF (Inter Agency Task Force), its an affirmation of our right to worship," he said.
When asked for reaction regarding the pastoral instruction, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in a press briefing on Tuesday said:"In the exercise of police powers we can order the churches closed. I hope we’ll not reach that point."
He warned the archdiocese not to violate the IATF rules or “you will force the state to close the doors of the churches.”
The IATF on Sunday, March 21, banned mass gatherings, including religious gatherings, in Metro Manila from March 22 to April 4, a period that covers Holy Week.
Also covered by the restrictions were churches in the provinces of Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, and Bulacan amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.