Labor officials said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will not make any wage increase announcement on Labor Day because wage boards in seven regions that have filed wage hike petitions were still holding deliberations that may conclude only in two or three weeks time.

But on May 1 there will be a Mega, Mega Job fair that the government offering 60,000 to 80,000 local and foreign jobs, the biggest ever in the nine-year-old Arroyo administration.

I saw it in the news the other night that there is a temporary restraining order to implement LTO’s RFID system in the new vehicle registration.

Those who got to install their RFID are requesting a full refund from the LTO.. Php350

Bro. Eraño G. Manalo, the Executive Minister of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, passed away yesterday, August 31, at 3:53 p.m. He was 84. The minister died of cardiopulmonary arrest, which according to www.freedictionary.com, is the failure of ventricles of the heart to contract, with the consequent absence of the heartbeat leading to lack of oxygen.

The remains of Ka Erdy, as Bro. Manalo was affectionately called by INC members, will lie at the INC Central Temple located on Commonwealth Avenue, New Era, Quezon City, and will be open for public viewing today, September 1, starting 3 p.m.

THE IGLESIA’S HISTORY. The Iglesia Ni Cristo or Church of Christ, was registered in the Philippines on July 27, 1914 by Felix Y. Manalo, the father of Ka Erdy. Ka Erdy would go on to preside over the INC for 46 continuous years after the death of his father in 1963.

An official INC pamphlet, published for the INC’s 95th anniversary this year, says that the INC is composed of more than 102 races worldwide; more than 5,400 locales, or parishes; and 104 ecclesiastical districts in the Philippines and in 90 other countries in six continents.

The INC is also “the largest entirely indigenous Christian religious organization that originated from the Philippines.” Starting from a small congregation of followers in Punta, Santa Ana, Manila, in 1914, the INC grew to have churches and followers in North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. (Wikipedia)

Following the line of succession established after the death of its first Executive Minister Ka Felix, which saw Ka Felix’s son Ka Erdy assume the post, the INC is now expected to be presided over by current Deputy Executive Minister Bro. Eduardo V. Manalo, Ka Erdy’s son.

The INC believes in one God, in Christ as the savior, and in Christ as a human being. Unlike the Catholic Church, the INC does not subscribe to the Trinity (or God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), nor does it venerate angels and saints. As a church, the INC is considered a powerful force in Philippine society, in part because its members vote as one block.

Celebrities following in the faith include Hale front man Champ Lui Pio, husband and wife Gladys Reyes and Christopher Roxas, Starstruck star Yasmien Kurdi, indie favorite Jaclyn Jose, actress and host Janice de Belen, and actress Klaudia Koronel, who recently married in INC rites.

Maligayang araw ng Kalayaan sa lahat ng pinoy!