Animal rights group PETA appeals to the public to abstain from eating meat even after Lent. Handout/PETA

MANILA — "Why eat a pig if you wouldn’t eat a human?"

This was the message posed by group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) during their Holy Week demonstration on Tuesday, which sparked attention and controversy from church goers in Quiapo. 

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A PETA member clad in underwear lay on a table to depict a “human barbecue.” 

Their message for churchgoers: Why should abstaining from eating meat be limited to the season of Lent?

PETA Asia senior campaigner Jana Sevilla said animals should be treated as equals by humans.

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“Pinakita lamang natin na kundi tayo kakain ng inihaw na tao bakit tayo kakain ng inihaw na hayop. Pare-parehas lang naman tayo may body parts, pare-parehas tayong may nararamdaman,” she said.

(We just showed that if we wouldn't eat grilled human, why would we eat grilled animals? We have the same body parts, feelings, pain. We should treat animals as equals.)

Police from Plaza Miranda detachment questioned the group following a complaint from Quiapo church over their graphic protest. 

After no formal complaints, members of the group were released.