MANILA - Thousands of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members are flocking to their Central Temple in Quezon City to pay their last respects to their leader, INC executive minister, Eraño 'Ka Erdie' Manalo, who passed away Monday afternoon.

Police said that as of 4 p.m., around 5,000 were already at the INC headquarters waiting for the opening of the public viewing of the remains of Manalo.

At least 100 policemen from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) have been deployed to the INC's biggest church along Commonwealth Avenue in Tandang Sora, Quezon City to help make the wake orderly.

INC officials said the public viewing was supposed to start at 3 pm, but they had to delay the start since they have to prepare the temple for Manalo's remains and the thousands of followers expected to arrive in the coming days.

Manalo, the INC's second executive minister, died of cardiopulmonary arrest on on Monday at 3:53 pm. He was 84.

Eraño is the son of Felix Manalo, founder and first executive minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

Manalo took over the administration of the church after his father's death in 1963.

He was instrumental in the expansion of the church internationally.

'New Era'

Born on January 2, 1925, Eraño de Guzman Manalo was the executive minister of the INC up to the time of his death on August 31, 2009.

The fifth child of Iglesia founder, Felix Manalo, Eraño's name comes from a reversal of the term "new era," which his father used to describe what he felt was a new Christian era in the INC.

He started attending the church's ministerial classes at 16 and was ordained a minister at 22.

In 1955, Eraño Manalo married Cristina Villanueva with whom he has six children.

With the passing of Felix Manalo in 1963, critics of the church predicted the decline and eventual fall of the INC.

But barely a month after assuming his role as spiritual leader of the church, the young Manalo began visiting congregations nationwide.

Global expansion

In 1967, he set his vision to overseas mission and global expansion.

In 1968, Manalo established the first congregation of the church overseas in Honolulu, Hawaii.

On the same year, Manalo moved the headquarters of the church to Quezon City.

By 2008, the INC had grown to more than 5,000 congregations in the Philippines, and more than 600 abroad with millions of members.

With Eraño's death, the actual process of succession is not clear yet.

But it is likely that his son, Eduardo, deputy executive minister, will take over the reins of the INC.

Bloc voting

In a statement read by presidential spokesman Anthony Golez, Malacañang described Manalo as a "giant in the social, religious and political life of the country."

"By precept and example, he guided millions of our countrymen on the path of righteousness, attended to the social and economic needs of his flock, and ensured that theirs would always be a powerful and persuasive voice in the nation's political discourse."

Politicians usually seek support from INC, which has at least 5,000 congregations around the world. It is perceived as a strong political force due to its bloc voting during elections.

Presidential aspirants, Senators Manuel Villar, Mar Roxas and Loren Legarda on Tuesday said they join INC members in their grief.

Villar said Manalo's death is "a loss not only to the Iglesia ni Cristo, but also to the entire Filipino nation, for losing one of the prominent figures that people look up for spiritual and moral guidance."

Legarda, meanwhile, said Manalo led his flock to help the poor "especially the farmers and workers."

Roxas, for his part, said the INC leader will be greatly missed. "I have faith in the capability of the Iglesia ni Cristo to continue forging on and carry on the great vision of Ka Erdy."

Militant partlylist group Bayan Muna also mourned the death of the religious leader.