More than 1.5 million people converged on the Philippine capital today for a powerful Christian sect's evangelical event, causing traffic chaos that shut down large parts of the megacity

Thousands of people line up for charity packages being given out by the politically-influential Filipino sect, Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in Manila on October 14, 2013, as they hold a massive evangelical event in five arias in the city that attracted over a million people and brought Manila to a standstill with gigantic traffic jams. The sect of about three million is dwarfed by the country's huge number of Roman Catholics but is known for the unity and the discipline its followers show to their leaders. Its members vote as a bloc which gives them great political weight. During elections, many Filipino politicians seek the 'anointment' of the leaders of the sect to win the votes of their followers.