Hale frontman Champ Lui Pio, a member of Iglesia ni Cristo, said their church leader Erano Manalo left behind a “good spiritual legacy.”

“I wasn’t able to meet him personally, but I could feel his love, concern, and sincerity through the letters that he would personally write (us, INC members) twice a year,” he told Manila Bulletin Online in an interview on Sept. 1.

Lui Pio added that he appreciated how the late leader would enthusiastically update the members of the developments in the church “despite his age.”

Manalo a.k.a. Ka Erdy was 84 when he succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest on Aug. 31. He served as INC’s executive minister since 1963 as successor of his father and church founder, Felix Manalo.

Lui Pio said he was shocked upon learning the news of Manalo’s demise.

“(Like all INC members) I mourn his passing. (My family and I) are still waiting for an official statement on the funeral arrangements, but if permitted today, we’ll go to his wake at the Central Temple in Quezon City,” he said.

The vocalist for the band Hale that recently released its fourth album titled “Kundiman,” shared that his parents -- his father is respected musician and songwriter Nonoy Tan -- were already INC members even before he was born on Feb. 8, 1982, making him a “handog” or "offering."

According to INC’s wikipedia page, newborn children of members are “offered” or dedicated to Christian service during the worship service. It adds that “the child offering in the INC is done through a prayer led by an ordained minister of the INC.”

Founded in 1914, INC is acknowledged as the largest indigenous Christian religious organization that originated in the Philippines.

INC members from the entertainment industry include spouses Gladys Reyes and Christopher Roxas, “Starstruck” runner-up Yasmien Kurdi, and former actress Klaudia Koronel.

Gladys and Christopher tied the knot at the INC Central Temple on Jan. 23, 2004, while Klaudia exchanged wedding vows with her businessman fiancé at the same venue Aug. 28 this year.