It was a sea of white as if the clouds themselves had descended on earth.

Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members, 1.6 million of them or more, as some news reports claimed, participated in the call of their church “for the whole nation to unite together for the sake of peace, which is needed if the Philippines has to move further toward sustainable development.” 

The event was seen as a show of force that reflected the length and breadth of the INC’s influence not only among its members but on the country’s societal and political landscape.

The message was clear to its members and non-members—as the event was seen live on various platforms on social media—to stand united and to call out “government leaders whom they voted into office to prioritize addressing pressing problems affecting the lives of ordinary Filipinos.” 

The INC’s call for peace is also in line with the stand of President Ferdinand R. Marcos (PBBM) against the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. “It will tie down the House, it will tie down the Senate,” said the President of the proposed impeachment. “It will just take up all our time, and for what? For nothing, for nothing. None of this will help improve a single Filipino life.”

The gathering was held in Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park in Manila and 12 other sites nationwide—Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Albay, Palawan, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Leyte, Zamboanga del Sur, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Butuan. About half a million of INC members were reported to have attended peace rallies in the provinces.

Historically, the Quirino Grandstand has been the site of large gatherings in the metropolis. As a child, it was the place where my parents would take us to watch the annual Independence Day Parade held on June 12. There we would watch a flotilla of motorized floats and a long line of folk dancers, representatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, local government units, civil servants, students, and groups from various regions across the country on parade. It has been the venue of every single Presidential inauguration since President Manuel Roxas up till President Rodrigo R. Duterte, except for PBBM. Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia was sworn in as President at the Council of State Room in the Executive Building in Malacanang, having assumed office after the death of President Ramon Magsaysay in a plane crash, but he was inaugurated as President for a second term in December 1957.  PBBM broke with tradition altogether, opting to take his oath in front of the National Museum of Fine Arts, formerly known as the Old Legislative Building, along Padre Burgos Street. 

But the Quirino Grandstand we know today is not the original grandstand set up at Rizal Park. The Independence grandstand built in 1946 was the precursor to the Quirino Grandstand and it was located much closer to the Rizal Monument. The Independence Grandstand was designed by Juan Arellano in “the neoclassical design with ornate elements added to the structure such as a triumphal arch at the top of the two ‘wings’ that shaded the main galleries, a bow stage with a carved figurehead of a maiden representing freedom, and two other figures representing a Filipino and a Filipina that stood 33 feet tall behind the stage and the central gallery.”

The Independence Grandstand was built to hold the declaration of independence of the Philippines from American colonial rule and to inaugurate the first President Manuel Roxas and Vice President Elpidio Quirino of an independent Philippines. On July 4, 1946, the American flag was lowered by then US High Commissioner Paul V. McNutt and it was replaced by the Philippine flag, raised by President Manuel Roxas, marking the beginning of the country’s independence. 

The Independence Grandstand was demolished and replaced by what is now called the Quirino Grandstand, built in 1964, in time for incoming President Elpidio Quirino’s inauguration. When Quirino died in 1956, the grandstand was renamed in his honor.