MANILA, Philippines – Marking the New Year, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) held a medical and dental mission on Saturday, January 2, for the Muslim community in Barangay Culiat, Quezon City.

INC spokesman Edwil Zabala told Rappler that the 101-year-old church has been conducting medical and dental missions called “Lingap sa Mamamayan (International Aid to Humanity)” for the past 20 years.

“It’s part of the biblical doctrine that we uphold to love our fellow men, and the Iglesia has been fulfilling that,” Zabala said in a phone interview.

He said that the INC has been holding other medical and dental missions for other communities in the country.

On Saturday, 89 health personnel from the INC-owned New Era General Hospital helped in the medical and dental mission.

They provided free medicines and medical services, including urinalysis and blood pressure and sugar check-up, to 1,997 barangay residents. They also gave free dental extraction services to 308 patients. 

Zabala said: “We are now currently holding a distribution of relief goods for members of the community who need it. They’re not necessarily victims of a calamity, but it was part of the need identified by the community leaders.” He added that about 2,000 bags of relief goods would be distributed to the Culiat Muslim community on Saturday.

The INC provides other assistance to communities who request aid from the church. Zabala cited an eco-farming community it started for Kabihug families in Barangay Bakal, Paracale, Camarines Norte, in November 2015. 

“We purchased about 300 hectares [of land] and built 300 houses for the Kabihug community in Camarines Norte. We built a school house for them [and] a training center for livelihood skills,” he said. 

To promote understanding

Zabala also said the INC has started extending help to several Lumad communities in Mindanao and the church is hoping to build a similar eco-farm for them. 

At the same time, he explained how this medical mission is important given issues faced by the INC in 2015.

That year, the church’s former ministers, including its leader’s brother, surfaced to expose the alleged corruption in the INC. The INC has denied these claims. 

He said: “Through this we are able to teach first of all the members of the church itself to abide by that biblical doctrine that we must extend assistance to our fellow men in need. Second, it promotes understanding among different faith groups.”

Zabala also said the Lingap sa Mamamayan activity in Quezon City is a “good way” to start 2016.

This comes after the INC also broke 3 Guinness World Records during its celebration of the New Year.

With at least 100,000 INC members gathering at the Philippine Arena to welcome the new year on December 31, 2015, the church broke world records for largest fireworks display, longest line of sparklers lit in a relay, and the most number of sparklers lit simultaneously. – Rappler.com