What will you give me if I can hand him over to you?

*Revisiting the “Interpol Wanted” caper, the group responsible for it and their futile attempts to force the courts to declare Bro. Eli Soriano as “fugitive from justice.”

*Challenging lawmakers to do something about the command bloc voting practice of the Iglesia ni Cristo that is practically making government servile to their whims.

By Jane Abao

Manila, Philippines (February 28, 2019) – THE JUDAS OFFER would flourish in a materialistic, godless world where there is loathing for anyone who stands in the way of one’s slide and carousel. In the same godless world are the venal, who, by all indications say, “Here I am; corrupt me!”

What will you give me… is not even a question but an offer. The person is willing to do it for a prize. And it is made possible because we have surrendered or are surrendering to people whom we have given political clout to.

Bro. Eli Soriano

People hating Bro. Eli Soriano’s big mouth is a case in point. Some people loathe him for what he says – because he gives them a run for their money. Most of all, some people want him dead and would hound him to the ends of this earth to stop him from talking.

But Preacher Soriano is not that totally hated; nor his words totally loathed. He has helped several souls come to know the true God and follow His ways, as such is Bro. Eli’s calling.

I am looking for lost sheep 

Bro. Eli doesn’t preach about false prophets as a topic per se, if that is what people hate; they are only side issues. The focus on them come only at certain points that there is any association with the topic at hand. The preacher doesn’t give long lectures to dumb the mind, in fact. He makes the audience highly engaged with his discourses similarly found in unique academies. He is teaching from the Bible – yet encouraging critical thinking. While he has to be sensitive to the probable absence or presence of his target audience (lost sheep), he, all the more, is very sensitive to his material – always. And this is where the “problem” begins because he has to teach the whole truth – not just a part – no matter how it hurts.

If the plan is intact, wherever you take it, the house will be built. Strictly speaking, even a jot or a title should not be diminished.

To show how important this principle is to Bro. Eli, before there any texto (topic) is given in the Members Church of God International (MCGI) , the following verse is displayed on the screen is several languages. [The screen is the blackboard for his worldwide preaching as viewed from Apalit, Pampanga to his audience in 6 continents]:

 “Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:” (Jeremiah 26:2)

Following this order, random grabs from Bro. Eli’s lectures show a deep sensitivity for the Bible. Already, beginning with the first verse of the Bible, Bro. Eli has a comment, noticing the supposed logic of the statement in relation to the verse coming after it. He makes sure the translations are proper before proceeding.

GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

[Checking against the Bible Concordance] Gen 1:1  In the beginningH7225 GodH430 createdH1254 (H853) the heavenH8064 and the earth.H776 

Gen 1:2  And the earthH776 wasH1961 without form,H8414 and void;H922 and darknessH2822 was uponH5921 the faceH6440 of the deep.H8415 And the SpiritH7307 of GodH430 movedH7363 uponH5921 the faceH6440 of the waters.H4325

If this were faithfully translated, he says, it would show the status of the earth when it was created. It should read, “When God began to create heaven and earth, earth was without form and void.” Moses was showing the status of the earth when it was created. It was without form and void, he says.

But in the case of Matthew 24:37, “days” should be actually be “day” only.

MATTHEW 24:37 (KJV) But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This is not in the proper context, he says. Not days. Almost all translators put “days,” even in the Greek. You can only base on the original context of the Bible. It is not right to think that it is “days,” but only one day. Particular day. Particular hour and second of that particular day, he says.

PROVERBS 28:8 (KJV) He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

It is not logical that he takes to pity the poor, so he increases his substance by usury and unjust gain. Illogical, he says.

[Checking against the Bible Concordance] Pro 28:8  He that by usuryH5392 and unjust gainH8636 increasethH7235 his substance,H1952 he shall gatherH6908 it for him that will pityH2603 the poor.H1800

There are words added in the translation, he says. There was no “he that by” in the original Hebrew. The subject is the action, hence, “Usury and unjust gain increaseth…” Consider this other verse.

DEUTERONOMY 15:11 (KJV) For the poor shall never cease out of the land:

The poor shall never cease. There will always be the poor.

An explanation for mistranslations, Bro. Eli says, is that readers of the Bible have their minds veiled. Translators read the Bible also, like the translators of the Douay-Rheims version which was derived from the Latin Vulgate. There are translators, and there are readers whose minds are veiled. The veil will only be taken away through Christ, he added.

Working against Soriano for promotion

Being a serious Bible student and teacher, exposing those with erroneous doctrines is part and parcel of Bro. Eli’s work, hence the hatred and vitriol from people who do not want to rectify their ways are expected. The system they don’t want to leave behind has monetarily supported them all these years, and they prefer status quo. They do not want anybody interfering. But ”interference” to one maybe “work” to another. Wherever there is lost sheep, expect a Soriano to speak.

And how “Eliseo F. Soriano” had ended up in the Interpol’s wanted list for “sex crimes” is a puzzle to most. Those in the know, however, are not surprised at how far the enemies of Eliseo F. Soriano, simply “Bro. Eli” to them, would go to humiliate him. They are wont to learning his identity get stolen; his very name used to counter information about himself; his biopage [at Wikipedia] mangled to include lies. The truth is, he has no enemies but false preachers he is trying hard to expose.

But there were really works done at the background to explain how these things happen: for placement in lucrative positions, for promotion, for retaliation in a supposed “libel.” And the system is very much accommodating.

As often pointed out, the INC’s bloc voting practice has earned for them preferential treatment in the government so that they can recommend their own men to sensitive positions even as high as the Supreme Court. When this happens, there is what Rivera (2015) calls “the willingness to prostitute convictions and the rule of law” – but this is not limited to politicians only.

Justice Presbitero J. Velasco Jr. is someone backed by the Iglesia ni Cristo as mentioned by Marites Dañgilan Vitug in “Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court.” This justice was the one who wrote the decision sustaining the suspension of Ang Dating Daan, the program of Bro. Eli, upon the complaint of the Iglesia ni Cristo. On pages 93-94 of Vitug’s book –

It did help immensely that Velasco was endorsed by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, a relative of his wife, and the Iglesia ni Cristo. Velasco listed Cardinal Vidal as one of his references when he applied for the Supreme Court. Asked about the INC nomination, Velasco said, “Some of my friends and classmates may have approached the Iglesia ni Cristo.”

Years later, Velasco wrote a decision in favor of the INC when he upheld the three month suspension of the TV program, Ang Dating Daan, whose host used offensive language against a minister of the INC who also anchors a TV program, Ang Tamang Daan. These religious rivals had been at each other’s throats for years.

The majority sided with Velasco. Four justices dissented, calling the decision a “prior restraint” and therefore, a blow to freedom of speech.

The perception was that Velasco was paying his dues to INC. “It was an en banc decision,” [Velasco] said, dismissing the perceived bias.

The question is: Why didn’t Justice Velasco inhibit himself from the case, considering his links with the Iglesia ni Cristo? He even wrote the decision! (Astudillo, 2013)

When the Iglesia ni Cristo launched “Ang Tamang Daan” way back in 2001, Bro. Eli knew its principal function was to destroy the person of the preacher through that TV program. But the Interpol-wanted caper was different because of the scope and the sufferings that Bro. Eli had to undergo. Worse, it was a patent display of church and state in virtual collusion. In the words of Randy David (2015), “Nothing is more explosive than the mixture of religion and politics.”

Why was this made possible? The INC were able to place their men in strategic positions: in the police force, in the justice system, and in many similar others. And who can tell secrets best but the people who are/were also one of them.

Ebanghelista (2017), for one, mentions that there was/is an Eli Soriano Crusade. “Antonio Ramirez Ebangelista,” according to TJ Burgonio (2015) is the pseudonym of a blogger who not only exposed what he called irregularities in the sect, but also dished out timely updates on expelled INC ministers who were allegedly illegally detained or kidnapped.

The filing of libel cases against Bro. Eli, Ebanghelista (2017) says was a contribution from INC ministers. There was a covert operation (black-ops) on Bro. Eli and his supporters at the ADD Convention Center in Pampanga using none other than the INC Police Officers of the Quezon City Police Department… All those who belonged to this Black-ops (team of Atty. Barcellano) were under an oath of silence.  Result: The cases were never solved; Atty. Vimar Barcellano was promoted – immediately and strategically.

Some time ago during the Eli Soriano crusade, the head of the INC Legal Department was the Minister/lawyer, Restituto Lazaro and the one who handles the actual legal operations was the Ministerial Student/lawyer, Atty. Vimar Barcellano. These people were not forthcoming to the Administration of Bro. Eraño G. Manalo then. They reported lies to him and covered up most of their heinous crimes.  [Underscoring by Ebanghelista (2017)].

As a result, Atty. Resty Lazaro committed so many legal blunders for the church, he was eventually relieved of his position. As for Atty. Barcellano, after his wife discovered his extra-marital affairs, he was kicked out from the Ministry and from the INC Legal Department but because of his contributions to the Eli Soriano filing of libel cases, he was not expelled from the Church. Instead, he was “advised” to join the police force, after which he became Captain in the notorious INC bailiwick, the Quezon City Police District, as the head of its Legal Department…

All those who belonged to Atty. Barcellano’s Black-Ops Team were under an oath of silence, that is why the cases were never ever solved. And this paved the way to Atty. Vimar Barcellano’s immediate and continuous promotion in his position up to the highly strategic post he now holds as CHIEF PROSECUTOR of Dasmariñas, Cavite. It’s much clearer now, why most of the highly questionable activities of the Church Administration of Eduardo V. Manalo is done in Cavite, Philippines because Chief Prosecutor Vimar Barcellano is there to make everything “appear to be a legit procedure.” (Ebanghelista, 2017)

A black operation (or black ops) is a covert operation by a government, a government agency, or a military organization. This can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it is secret and it is not attributable to the organization carrying it out. (Wikipedia)

What went before 

On March 27, 2005, Bro. Eli posted on The Manila Times a challenge to debate with Eraño Manalo of the Iglesia ni Cristo “to once and for all settle our doctrinal differences.” He was refused and instead was pushed to ask Pope John Paul II at Vatican, who was dying that time, for a debate and to speak in Latin. That would be the time his request would be accepted. The implication was that the Iglesia ni Cristo was superior to the Roman Catholic Church.

By December 2005, Bro. Eli Soriano was forced to leave the Philippines, with so many cases filed in court.  While he was out of the country, a rape case against him was filed by no other than one he had excommunicated and went to the Iglesia ni Cristo. This case was dismissed In January 2006 for lack of evidence. Curiously, it was re-filed by the Secretary of Justice whose office fell under the Office of the President.

In 2007, INC members who had filed Criminal Case 5957 (For Libel) at the Regional Trial Court, Fourth Judicial Region, Branch 76 of San Mateo Rizal, sought a motion to declare Bro. Eli a fugitive from justice. Judge Josephine Zarate Fernandez on August 31, 2007 denied the motion. Soriano’s counsel had underscored that his client is under intense persecution by the INC, explaining his failure to return to the country. DENIED.

The following year (August 2008), the “Interpol wanted” news came out – at least from the news report of Alfred Dalizon of Journal Online. The offense being true or not, it said Eliseo Soriano was being wanted by the Interpol for “sex crimes.”  The Interpol website that displayed the photo and information of Bro. Eli dated January 28, 2009 said, “If you have any information, contact your national or local police, General Secretariat of Interpol.”

At the same time, GMA7 showed an interview with the supposed complainant with Arnold Clavio as the anchorman. That was the only time the MCGI congregation came to know Bro. Eli’s location: Brazil in Latin America. All the time, information about his location was kept from the organization.

The MCGI went into full force. To introduce to the Interpol the supposed victim, “Portrait of the ‘raped man’ for whom the Interpol would mobilize” was written on “Censored News Uncensored,” WordPress, a parody of the interview of Arnold Clavio, “Case Closed Unclosed.” It described the accuser and narrated the reasons why Daniel S. Veridiano was excommunicated by Bro. Eli in the first place.

All the while, the Internet helped to show: (1) That the rape case was dismissed, (2) The case was re-filed under questionable circumstances, (3) That there is an age-old and on-going battle between the INC and MCGI, (4) That powerful people, not involved, are themselves being used in persecuting Bro. Eli, and (5) That there is the INC to be pleased by these people.

In 2009, since nothing was happening with the Interpol notice (No Bro. Eli yet in their jails) but just a notice, INC complainants in Criminal Case 06-248365 (For Libel) at the Regional Trial Court, National Capital Region, Branch 8, Manila, also sought a motion to declare accused Eliseo Soriano a fugitive from justice. Just as with the first motion in 2007, this second motion seeking to declare Bro. Eli as fugitive from justice was turned down by the court. Penned by Presiding Judge Felixberto T. Olalia, Jr. on December 15, 2009, in the absence of evidences to support accusations, the court said the accused cannot be declared a “fugitive from justice.” DENIED

In fact, there was a third one: Criminal Case 06-248365 (For Libel) failed to get its motion to declare the preacher as fugitive from justice, and was archived. ARCHIVED.

By December 2009, suddenly Bro. Eli began broadcasting from a garage, turned into a makeshift studio, located in Florianópolis, Brazil. Here was the “wanted” man showing himself to the world. Yet he was still supposed to be “wanted.”

Fast forward to August 2011, GMA News, a sister station of GMA7, replayed the interview made on August 2008 made with the supposed rape complainant despite protestations from MCGI members. This resulted in more than 36,000 MCGI members responding with a boycott of the station and opened an online page purposely to communicate with GMA.

The following year [March] 2012, the Interpol dropped Bro. Eli’s name – after some three years. It said their investigations depended on up-to-date global data.

In sum, the Iglesia ni Cristo were not successful in having Bro. Eli be declared a fugitive from justice. They were not able to have him incarcerated. The cases they filed began to be dismissed one after the other. The Interpol Wanted list deleted Bro. Eli’s name. Meanwhile, on the Internet, he is being seen preaching worldwide from Brazil.

Was the Interpol really looking for Bro. Eli?

An Alfred P. Dalizon wrote in August 2008 a story on World News of Journal Online, saying Bro. Eli was served an international Red Notice from the Interpol for the charge of rape. The request was supposedly made by the Regional Trial Court of Macabebe, Pampanga. This was the very court that tried the rape case that was first dismissed, but was re-filed.

Dalizon was clearly partial to the INC that he wrote Bro. Eli was a former INC, just as he said, Daniel Veridiano, the complainant, was an INC member who went to Bro. Eli’s group, then returned to the INC. These are patent lies.

As records reveal, the investigating prosecutor found no probable cause to prosecute Soriano as he believed that Veridiano’s accusations were all lies and fabricated. It highly considered the rift going on between the INC and the ADD. It was penned by Alexandro Lopez, Asst. Provincial Prosecutor, and approved by Jesus Manarang, the Provincial prosecutor, Province of Pampanga, San Fernando City, on January 26, 2006.

But the case was re-filed. How was this done? Manarang, with some filial links to Raul Gonzalez, the Secretary of Justice under the Office of the President, was replaced by Jaime Umpa from Mindanao that took care of the re-filing of the case. After that, Manarang was returned to his place and Umpa was returned to Mindanao.

Ebanghilista (2015) on his website shows photos of the concerned documents. The document shots duly captioned, are as follows:

(1) Rape case filed against Bro. Eli was dismissed by Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Alexandro Lopez and submitted by Jesus Y. Manarang on January 26, 2006.

(2) March 21, 2006. DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez orders the records of the rape case to be elevated to his office. The President at that time was Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, widely supported by the INC for their bloc voting practice.

(3) April 10, 2006, Jesus Manarang, Provincial Prosecutor, complies with the order of DOJ Sec Raul Gonzalez to elevate the case.

(4) April 25, 2006, DOJ Sec Raul Gonzalez assigns Jaime L. Umpa to Pampanga especially to resolve the case, “Daniel Veridiano vs. Eliseo Soriano.” Department Order 255, April 25, 2006 was signed by Raul Gonzalez.

Ebanghelista’s (2015) assessment was that –

[This is] a case of special treatment, of obvious manipulation and interference! The “common sense” that can explain this is that the one who filed the case is an Iglesia ni Cristo member and the accused happens to be a Bro. Eli Soriano, one who has no influence [with] the government.

Notes: In (2), directed to elevate the records to the Office of the Department of Justice was Regional State Prosecutor Jesus Simbulan of Region III.

In (3), there’s a notation that says, ‘Together with the prepared resolution of Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Alexandro Lopez.’

ELEVATING THE CASE

Question: What happened now to the earlier resolution? Was Lopez forced to change his first resolution of ‘DISMISSED’?

Because the clear intention is to once and for all apprehend Bro. Eli wherever he was in any part of the world, the Interpol was used. So that the Interpol would have something to hold on to, a court case for mere libel (2007) sought a motion to declare him “fugitive from justice.” Hence, the following year (April 2008), the Interpol wanted list appeared, but that was all. Only a notice. In 2009, another court case, again for mere libel, sought a motion to have Bro. Eli be declared as fugitive from justice. Still no handcuffing. And yet a third attempt was made, despite the court junking the two earlier motions, but was archived. How persistent these efforts were, the court cases can tell.

The Iglesia ni Cristo were having a feast from all of these, as shown by their spams on social media sites. But their problem was that because Bro. Eli is being seen on the Internet preaching world-wide, how could he be someone hiding with activities that required the intervention of the Interpol?

Questions on Interpol Notice

The Interpol does not also involve itself in any political, military, religious, or racial crimes. This is written in its constitution.

Moreover, the work of Interpol focuses primarily on public safety, terrorism, organized crime, war crimes, illicit drug production, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, child pornography, white-collar crime, computer crime, intellectual property crime and corruption.

For which of these crimes was Soriano guilty of to merit an Interpol notice? If Bro. Eli Soriano cannot even be declared a “fugitive from justice” by the courts, how could the Interpol be looking for him? Two times denied; the third time, archived. For whatever motive his name was placed there, only the culprit knows.

The Interpol emphatically states in their database that a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant in contrast to Dalizon’s report of April 2008 about Bro. Eli. It also gives a warning in bold letters that the person should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

But did someone make a killing for the temporary posting? The Internet was so full about this Interpol thing. The humiliation was too much. Those who had filed cases, and those that moved the powers that be to hound Bro. Eli, are those who had made a feast of all these – and it took 3 painful years, and more.

What were they able to disable from Bro. Eli?

Why in the world would Dalizon pretend to direct the Interpol to places where Bro. Eli goes as a tip? Was the preacher hiding? How could Interpol not know about the activities of Bro. Eli when he is on the Internet teaching the world day in and day out? For a while, the enemy seemed victorious. Bro. Eli laments to the congregation (Skype conference, 2016) –

The enemy was doing everything to destroy me. I asked permission from the court to leave the Philippines to conduct a Bible Exposition in Singapore.

When I was already in Singapore, the enemies filed a rape case against me, so that they can take me. That is without bail. Atty. Frank Chavez called me and advised me not to return to the Philippines. He said it would be dangerous for me to go home to the Philippines.

I did not know where to go. My mind was troubled.

Considering that they had wanted Bro. Eli to suffer, they enjoyed placing him in difficulty. While Bro. Eli was jumping from country to country, he was not able to preach – but he was thinking.

We jumped from one country to the next. We found out that Brazil is predominantly Catholic. I was thinking, there may be people of God there.

In the map, Brazil is the opposite of the Philippines. We had to go to Uruguay first. With God’s help, I was given a visa. But the lawyer advised me to lay low for a while. That was for three months. I was not happy because I was not able to preach.

We exited to different countries every 30 days. I was like a man without a nation because I had no visa in Singapore. And then I was eventually granted a work visa. I did not need to exit to neighboring countries. But we were not allowed to preach in Singapore.

I was thinking, what would I be doing here? Will I just die here without preaching? In Singapore, we sold snacks. I was earning. I had a savings account in a bank. But the bank told me to get my money and close the account. It turned out that I have an Interpol notice.

Enter the God of Justice

For all his sufferings, Bro. Eli knew God would not allow him to suffer injustice for long. He will assert his presence. The God of Justice will balance things. One day, his lawyer said, “They cannot arrest you anymore. There is no extradition treaty here in Brazil. Before they can have you deported, they have to get through me.”

Bro. Eli started going out. He told Bro. Josel Mallari, one of the ministers, to look for a television station. It was rather expensive, but they gave it a try. They aired a program. After two weeks, they received many responses, and so they conducted a Bible Exposition. Guests swarmed in.

People attended the exposition for the whole day – 14 hours. Bro. Eli spent much; it was in millions. It turned out that this thing is already in the Bible: the prophecy that salvation will start in the east and then go to the west. He asks, and answers his own question: “Was anyone able to hinder it? No!”

In December 2009, TV Verdade was born. Its broadcast feed originated from a small garage, around 48 square meters, transformed into a makeshift broadcasting studio located in Florianópolis, Brazil. The station now carries the 24-hour Portuguese broadcast of O Caminho Antigo (English: The Old Path, Tagalog: Ang Dating Daan) hosted by Bro. Eli.

After virtually driving Bro. Eli away from the Philippines, his enemies thought they would be safe from his mouth. But feeling that the Interpol would not be acting, they tried three times to have him be declared as “fugitive from justice.” No results. The courts did not approve. Worse, Interpol dropped Bro. Eli’s name from being “wanted.”

Now that Bro. Eli had based himself in Brazil, failing from the Interpol attempt, they wanted to have him extradicted so they can have some access to him. But such request was archived, too. With God’s mercy, Bro. Eli came to have legal status in Brazil.

Even if they killed me

The notion of an antipodes map first came to Bro. Eli when he tried to make sense of what was happening to him and found it is a package by itself. His being hunted and hounded is merely a part, but it doesn’t mean those party to it are blessed and should be blessed.

With the antipodes map, the direction of preaching that MCGI should follow is dictated: Coming from the east that is the Philippines, it goes to the west (Brazil); then it should go up north and finally go down south. That is in the prophecy. As far as the MCGI is concerned, the one tasked to save people in these areas is the Church affiliated with the Church mentioned in the Bible.

Bro. Eli has been 12 years in Brazil now. In all places in south and Latin America, there are now MCGI locales:  259 in Spanish-speaking countries (Latin America), and 149 Portuguese-speaking locales (Brazil). By April 2016, TV Verdade was announced as adding 23 relay stations, to total 50 relay stations in the west.

TV Verdade airs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via Star One C2 satellite in South American countries and SES-6 satellite which also covers South American countries as a redundancy, including other nations in North America, Europe and North Africa.

If you will look at the antipodes map, if you bury a tunnel right through the center of the earth to the other side of the world, you will end up in Brazil, in South America.

The church is growing. They cannot hinder it. Even if they killed me, the word of God is already planted. It already started to grow and to bear fruits. I hold Bible Expositions in different places. That’s how I look for lost sheep.

Why did he say, “even if they killed me?” From experience, Bro. Eli knows that there are people who cannot accept truth.

When he was just 27 years old, preaching in the barrios of Central Luzon, Philippines, the young Eli was mauled by deacons of the Iglesia ni Cristo in Betis, Pampanga. The topic he was discussing was about the “other angel ascending from the east.” According to several sources, Felix Manalo, the founder of the INC, had declared himself to be the fifth angel calling out to four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God.”…

Santa Romana (1955) and four other sources write, it was in 1922 that Felix Manalo first declared himself to be the “fifth angel” or  “another angel rising in the east” as mentioned in Revelation 7:2. Accordingly, he developed this doctrine in order to accumulate power and reassert his leadership in the church.

Bro. Eli said it was impossible that, that angel was Manalo. Can he set one foot upon the sea and another foot on the earth? Impossible! Before he could even do that, he would drown, he said. Members of the Iglesia ni Cristo did not like what they heard. Five deacons beat the young man that he got hospitalized at Mercy Clinic for one week.

INC Interference in Government

Lawmakers should climb a little higher to take note of what’s happening in the environment. What they did to Bro. Eli Soriano is so far the most complicated operations carried out. Involved here were the courts, the media, the Interpol, and the governments of the Philippines and Brazil, with the Iglesia ni Cristo playing major role.

At the background were the many members of the MCGI in 6 continents actively following up on developments. All throughout, there was an online boycott of some 36,000 against GMA7 and GMA News because of their support of the supposed “raped” victim. There was a lot of disinformation on the Internet for three painful years and more, while the “Interpol wanted list” requested by the Iglesia ni Cristo was active. Has there been any other Filipino treated like this? Who will be their next victim?

And yet lawmakers have not done any move because they can milk the corrupt practice for their own purpose. Nothing is being done to check the Iglesia ni Cristo. Not to even mention accessions given to them on a platter, we trace this cancer to the INC practice of bloc voting that has made politicians servile and government corroding to the core. It begins with the Iglesia ni Cristo playing games with their members on one hand and candidates for elections on the other.

The politicians court the INC for votes, the INC dictates to their members. When these politicians win, they act as stooges. It is payback time, and the cancer cells spread out. Now, since the practice is aimed at national officials including the President of the Land, every part of government is not safe from defilement.

One can say there’s nothing wrong with bloc voting, but the kind that INC practices is one of command. There have been dissenting voices but it looks like no one is interested in solutions. As Columnist Conrado de Quiros asked, why do we allow this?

“Why do we allow the INC…to interfere in elections? We know that INC members vote as a bloc for the candidates of their leaders’ choosing. We know this because that church doesn’t bother to hide it; it parades it as one of the reasons for joining it or currying its favor…This is out-and-out flouting of the separation of Church and State, a thing expressly forbidden in a democracy. And yet we see no law stopping it, and yet we see only politicians seeking to profit from it.” (De Quiros, 2012).

Even thinking INC members are not fooled. They can see what’s wrong and they are concerned about the effects on the government –

“Oh, how terrible and weakening the feeling, hearing those words of politicians who are subservient to the influence of the Iglesia ni Cristo! It is like they have lost their mind. Can you imagine Pavlov’s dog? What these politicians actually salivate for are nothing but the bloc votes of these non-thinking Iglesia ni Cristo. That is the reason these politicians cannot stand up for law.

“It appears that the Iglesia ni Cristo ni Manalo can freely do anything they wanted to do without worry of interference from the government even if they aggrieve others. It is indeed discouraging and seemingly marginalized to feel that one belongs to the people who have no “say” to those in the government. (Ebanghelista, 2015)

Of the next victim, can you imagine? It only happens that the God of Bro. Eli is real who also wanted to prove his power. The spikes of the fierce and vicious, he was able to dumb down. But what if the victim is not a Bro. Eli?

Politics of religion

Yet the INC are ever ready to use the infamous tagline, “separation of Church and State” to defend themselves whenever they could capitalize on it. The principle is that the State cannot interfere in purely religious matters and the Church cannot also interfere in matters of the State.

Miraculously, after Bro. Eli was relieved from that “Interpol wanted” caper, things were happening at the Iglesia ni Cristo even as it approaches the INC’s 101st founding anniversary (July 27, 2015). There was fighting within, amidst allegations of corruption. The very family of the Manalos were in contention: the Executive Minister, that is Eduardo V. Manalo, had excommunicated his own mother and his brother (CNN_PH Staff, 2015).

Corruption was being alleged within the organization even by Angel Manalo, the very brother of the Executive Minister (Malig, 2015). Some ministers have either gone missing or were being held as prisoners within. Court cases flew. At one point in time, the Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima called for a preliminary investigation of several INC church leaders based on the testimony of Mr. Isias Samson, a former minister, with allegations of serious illegal detention.

Wikipedia records that on August 27-31, 2015, the INC held protests. The INC were calling it an alleged violation of separation of church and state due to the DOJ acting on the filed illegal detention case. The twin goals were: (1) Removal of DOJ secretary Leila de Lima from her post, and (2) Junking of the Case filed by Isaias Samson Jr. The results of the 5-day protest were that (1) The Iglesia Ni Cristo announced the end of the protests following talks between church and government officials. And (2) The Iglesia ni Cristo in protester created a heavy traffic jam on EDSA, causing major re routing and road closures. (3) De Lima remained DOJ secretary.

Here comes the question:

Who gave a minority religious group like the Iglesia Ni Kristo, not even one-tenth as many as the Catholic Church, so much power and influence that it has the audacity… to stage a protest and expect the State to kowtow in fear?…It is amazing why election after election, presidentiables and senatoriables have to make a courtesy call to INC leadership like their political lives depended on it. It is mind-boggling how the announcement of INC-supported candidates get more media mileage than the CBCP list (Rivera, 2015).

Buenaobra (2016) echoes the same sentiment: “Despite the failed endorsements, candidates still trooped to the INC compound to get the ‘blessing’ (and votes) of its executive minister.” As news accounts show, previous endorsements of the INC that have failed include: Eduardo Cojuangco who came in 3rd; Estrada who was ousted in 2001 because of corruption charges; Macapagal-Arroyo who had graft charges, and Manny Villar who lost the elections.

Rivera (2015) explains that the problem starts when people who want to control the State are willing to use the Church to get elected. Then, the separation of church and state becomes blurry. Wielding influence in the matters of State is made possible by giving religious groups leeway to dictate election results by their open endorsements, Rivera said.

That is the reason why some politicians are willing to prostitute convictions and the rule of law so they will not earn the ire of the INC and others who may already know their fate with the INC to readily criticize it (Rivera, 2015).

But it may not be the same again to claim that INC members are ‘just protecting their faith.’

Until we learn that we get our ails from our own doing, we cannot say to the INC, it may not be the same again. What we have now is a government fast deteriorating and cheapened from engaging in barter schemes with a “church” demanding special privileges. And this is done through politicians, prosecutors, justices, police and personalities of like stature from wrongful political couplings demonstrated herein. #

References

Abao, J. (2008, August 27). Portrait of the “raped man” for whom the Interpol would mobilize. Retrieved from https://jakeastudillo.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/portrait-of-the-raped-man-for-whom-the-interpol-would-mobilize/ First posted on Newsvine.com

Abao, J. (2014, October 22). Eli Soriano Not Fugitive from Justice: Two Courts Deny Motions. Retrieved from https://kotawinters.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/eli-soriano-not-fugitive-from-justice-two-courts-deny-motions/

Astudillo, J. (2013, April 3). Are We Now Going to Give the Country to Bloc-Voting People? Retrieved from https://kotawinters.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/are-we-now-going-to-give-the-country-to-bloc-voting-people/

Buenaobra, MI. T. (2016, February 24). The Politics of Religion in the Philippines. Retrieved from https://asiafoundation.org/2016/02/24/the-politics-of-religion-in-the-philippines/

Burgonio, T.J. (2015, November 29). Blogger ‘Ebangelista’ writes Inquirer, warns Iglesia elders. Retrieved from https://technology.inquirer.net/45477/blogger-ebangelista-writes-inquirer-warns-iglesia-elders?utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1

CNN Philippines Staff (2015, July 24). Iglesia ni Cristo expels Manalo siblings, mother. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2015/07/23/Iglesia-ni-Cristo-expels-Manalo-siblings-mother.html1

Dalizon, A.P. (2008, August 16). Int’l arrest warrant out for Eli Soriano. Retrieved from http://article.wn.com/view/2008/08/16/Intl_arrest_warrant_out_for_Eli_Soriano/

Dalizon, A.P. (2008, August 17) [Tabloid version posted in People’s Tonight]. Retrieved from http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2008-08-17&sec=1&aid=70285

David, R. (2015, August 30). Law, politics and the INC, Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from https://opinion.inquirer.net/88043/law-politics-and-the-inc#ixzz5gcEUY8du

De Quiros, C. (2012, May 23). Why do we allow this? Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from https://opinion.inquirer.net/29267/why-do-we-allow-this#ixzz5gVDXkCjH

Ebanghelista, A.R. (2015, September 21). Iglesia ni Cristo Straining the Gnats but not the Camel. Retrieved from https://incnomore.wordpress.com/2015/09/21/iglesia-ni-cristo-straining-the-gnats-but-not-the-camel/

Ebanghelista, A.R. (2017, June 7). Eduardo V. Manalo’s Administration: Undeniably a Bully Disguised as Holy. Retrieved from https://incsilentnomore.com/2017/06/07/eduardo-v-manalos-administration-undeniably-a-bully-disguised-as-holy/

Malig, J. (2015, July 24). Angel Manalo alleges ‘massive corruption’ in Iglesia Ni Cristo. ABS-CBNnews.com. Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/metro-manila/07/23/15/angel-manalo-alleges-massive-corruption-iglesia-ni-cristo

Rivera, B.V. (2015, September 1). The Iglesia ni Cristo and the game of politics. Retrieved from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/opinion/content/535108/the-iglesia-ni-cristo-and-the-game-of-politics/story/

Santa Romana (1955:381-5), Gumban (1968:41), Fabian(1969:7-8), Sanders (1969:353-5) and Tuggy (1976:57-9,116-9). Fallacies of the Iglesia ni Cristo. https://sites.google.com/site/fallaciesoftheiglesianicristo/biography-of-felix-y-manalo

Smith, Jr., W. Thomas (2003). Black-ops. Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. p. 31. ISBN 0-8160-4666-2. In Wikipedia

Soriano, E. F. (2016, April 6) Lamentations. (Statements in italics). Skype Conference. Members Church of God International

Vitug, M. D. (2010). Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court. Public Trust Media Group Inc.

Wikipedia. 2015 Iglesia ni Cristo protests. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Iglesia_ni_Cristo_protests

Bro. Eli Soriano: Not of their Level, Purely

By Jane Abao

Manila, Philippines (2/12/2019 ) – IT WAS NOT the first time these words came to him as a response, to cut him down to size: “Not of their level.” They are way up, and Soriano is way down. He is just a high school dropout; they would not forget that. At the time he was challenging a false preacher to a debate, the response was that Bro. Eli Soriano did not come up to the level of the one being challenged. Not of his level. So they say they are perfection and he blushes in his heart.

Bro. Eli Soriano

When Bro. Eli challenged Eraño Manalo, then the Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo to a debate, “Hindi ka ka-lebel” (You’re not of my level) was the answer. The latest one Bro. Eli was challenging and still challenging is Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the “Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the name above every name” who referred to his organization as “kingdom nation.”

Quiboloy claimed he is the Appointed Son of God. Accordingly, God took Quiboloy’s name and gave Quiboloy his name, purely! Therefore he and God are one! He has many other claims besides. And these claims, Bro. Eli would like to contest – for the reason that they contribute to atheism and primarily because they are built on lies and deceive so many.

Quiboloy, or PACQ as many refer to him on the Internet, is a graduate of a Bible school. To add to that, which is why he feels towering above everyone, according to his website, Quiboloy has been awarded 9 honorary doctorate degrees in 2018 alone by an accrediting organization named Royal Institution Singapore. This organization, RI Singapore, however, is not a University.

Backtracking, in the 1980’s, a rich woman who was excommunicated from the Church, tried her best to have Bro. Eli incarcerated. The case was all about money borrowed by 3 Church members from her business and Bro. Eli tried to pay with checks to settle the trouble. Add to the fact that the woman went abroad and the one receiving the checks was her daughter, the checks bounced because of the placed dates. Bro. Eli was then to be imprisoned – for 39 years! But much as the woman tried to make Bro. Eli suffer, she could not even physically take hold of him. In her derision and with all the hatred in her heart, she shouted, “Soriano, you are just a peso!”

Bro. Eli laughed. “Haha! That’s even more than what I am. One peso is 100 centavos. And I am nothing!”

It is mostly false prophets that call Bro. Eli “not of their level,” and only as an excuse not to face him in a debate. Quiboloy was more docile years before, during the times they were both airing their religious programs at Channel 13, but not now. He is way ahead with so many lies, with so many claims, that he has generated a lot of atheists.

BRO. ELI SORIANO: Let us play again the voice of Mr… our friend whom we are currently addressing, and let us listen to what he is saying so that we can continue to address it. Here he is.

PACQ: Mr. S, let me inform you that this ministry and this preacher will stand for all kinds of issues, whether spiritual, doctrinal, ethical, legal, even personal. My life is an open book. And not only am I willing to discuss in private, but even on television, like what we are doing now.

Choose the field where you want us to go into on all those issues. Even if the Lord comes, I will dedicate this program with the intention of clarifying things to our many listeners and watchers. I will dedicate this program if you are there to stand against the commandments of our Lord God, against the set of laws of man or set of laws we were brought up in, like ethics, legal, doctrinal or spiritual. Whichever of these you will go into.

While this ministry exists, this will be used by the Lord for all to be corrected in the path where the Lord wants us to walk, the path that will sanctify make one righteous, and will draw us near to Him and to His will.

BRO. ELI SORIANO: Pause it for a while, director. He challenged us. He said, “This ministry, this preacher, is ready to stand for whatever issue, whether legal, spiritual…” Et cetera, the things he said. “I am challenging you,” he said, “Not only in court, but even on television. I am challenging you on these issues.” I accept your challenge, Mr. Abuloy (collection). What do you want us to talk about? You said you can stand for legal, moral, and spiritual issues. “I will dedicate this television program if you want it on television.” Challenge accepted, Mr. Abuloy. I accept your challenge formally on the air.

Let us talk about the doctrines you are teaching. That is the most important of all. If you want us to have a discourse on television, let us combine our time slots. You have an hour-and-a-half, since our programs are aired after the other. I have an hour, that would be two-hours-and-a-half. Let us take another half hour. Let us ask the management of Channel 13 to give us three solid hours for us to have a discourse regarding your doctrine. Prove that the church you registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, your church, “The Executive Pastor of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name Administrator, Inc.” Prove that it is the true organization that is of God; I will disprove it! That group is of the devil, according to the Bible. I will prove it. Then prove that our group is wrong. Prove that our group is wrong and is of the devil. There are just two things. If you are not of God, you are of the devil. I am opposed to your group, the organization you established, even your by-laws, even the doctrines you are teaching, I oppose them. I will prove that it is not of God, it is of the devil.

This was years ago in Channel 13. Between the late 80’s and early 90’s, both Bro. Eli and Quiboloy patronized Channel 13 for their religious programs. But now Quiboloy is saying that he does not engage in debates anymore.

In response to Bro. Eli pestering him about Quiboloy’s so-called revelations, the Kingdom Nation pastor had issued in 2005 a “revelation” that Bro. Eli would be “stricken with a deadly disease that he cannot overcome.” With that, he had also warned that his followers better leave in 6 months, or else they will also suffer the preacher’s fate. It is now 2019. As it did not happen, Quiboloy was exposed as a false prophet.

Meanwhile, Quiboloy foisted “revelation after revelation” on the public, and all the more that Bro. Eli wanted to debate with him. But there are several reasons Quiboloy would give as an escape: “We are not anymore in the Church age, so there is no more need to debate.” And, “How can you debate with me? I am the truth, the way and the life!”

These recent days, there is an amount pegged as a condition: “I am expensive now. For two hours that I am speaking, $20,000,000 would have been collected.” That would be 1,040,210,000.00 Philippine Pesos (country currency rates conversion, Feb. 13, 2019), or one billion forty million two hundred ten thousand pesos, an amount that would provide a good budget for MCGI propagation programs to reach out to several millions in the world, than debate with a disillusioned false prophet who can no longer accept truth.

It is not the money though that Quiboloy had pegged to stop anyone from bothering him. Still, the challenge to him stays. One does not get paid to face anyone in a debate just like boxing is done. If you have the truth, you can stand for it. But if you are just fooling people, you simply advance so many reasons to avoid any debate – worse, face a Bro. Eli Soriano to examine you. So, even if $20,000,000 were given to you on a platter, can you defend your lies? Can you afford to be out-ed to your members? Would they want to know you have been fooling them all along – they, who have been your source of living in a honeycomb for several years?

But Quiboloy said, Bro. Eli is not of his level. “I am really nothing. It’s okay. You have Bro. Daniel Razon. He is a college graduate – of Mass Communication. And he has many awards – worldclass even. You won’t have to feel ashamed of him.”  Bro. Eli was comforting the congregation.

As known in the Members Church of God International, Bro. Daniel Razon, the next-in-rank to Bro. Eli, would take after the latter, should he go. But what about the needed understanding that is Bro. Eli’s signature in preaching? It will pass on to Bro. Daniel. Whoever is leading the Church, God will give the understanding needed. That much, Bro. Eli assured.

AT AGE 15, the young Eli was enjoying discussions with his classmates about religion in the high school corridors. While the Catholics had their class inside, those of other religions were outside having their own discourses.

By age 16, he had become too attracted to the Bible while he was also a student leader loved by teachers in his school. By age 17, like a magnet, the Bible finally had him pulled off from school a few months before he could finish his third year.

But it could not be just one way. While he was being siphoned by another domain, he was being pushed off from another. Bro. Eli mentioned a teacher who was a Catholic that was being nasty – different from most of his teachers who doted on him. During his last year too, he had had a little debate with a teacher who insisted on teaching about evolution, but the young Eli believed that as untrue and should not be taught. His classmates, who were still hopeful he would one day show up in school, were soon to learn that Eli had decided to dedicate his time in the Church. There was no turning back.

With a marked brilliance, the young Church worker eventually became the one drafting the topics (paksa) for Bro. Nicolas Perez who was leading the Church at that time. Perez died in 1975 and in 1976 Bro. Eli, in his late 20’s, was leading the Church that came out of a split of three groups.

DEBATE WAS THE only way people could be forced to accept truth. As a young church worker, Bro. Eli one day found out that anyone with false claims can be challenged with a debate. With an older brother-in-faith (Bro. Reuben Canlas) leading him to Plaza Miranda, they found someone preaching on the stage with various claims that were not found in the Bible. This man was lying. Finding out that he knew even more, Bro. Eli disputed those claims of the man and took the chance to show the Bible verses. The audience accepted him and his arguments.

Precisely why Canlas was bringing him to places where there were crowds was that he knew the young fellow was mastering the Bible and he would like him to be tried and tested. This incident was followed by another, and then another, until finally, Bro. Eli was himself representing Bro. Perez in debates with pastors of other religions.

Debates peppered the life of Bro. Eli even as he became a young Church leader. Curiously, someone was doing the scheduling. But Bro. Eli, himself, did not look for these people who were to be his opponents. The debates with religions, as diverse as can be, happened like an entertainment for someone who seemed not to entirely believe in Bro. Eli. Named Emmanuel Bacosa, he owned the place in Makati where Church in that area was being held during those days. Somehow, Bro. Eli believed the fellow was being used by the Iglesia ni Cristo to prove something. Yet, Bro. Eli took the challenge to face everyone scheduled to prove his mettle. From then on, he used debates as a tool to expose false preachers – from the Philippines to foreign lands.

In the history of MCGI, whenever debates are held, Bro. Eli was always the victor. A humble figure of debates that he had summed up in the Philippines would not be less than 40. In foreign lands, however, since he left the Philippines in 2005, there is not even 10 as they come to shove each other after knowing the man better from YouTube. That he was always the victor were on account of two reasons: First, he is strong in faith. Second, that faith allowed him understanding.

BUT WHO WOULD believe Bro. Eli is just a high school dropout whom one can easily dump? “Tried and tested on stage” – that was his description, but the tide has ironically turned against him. Now, people suspect he is only saying he is a high school dropout to highlight his victories. Now, people suspect he is someone well-versed in reasoning, he must be a lawyer, and not to believe the dropout story. You hear of Law students eagerly watching  how he rebuts, how he makes a defense, how he examines his opponent. Now, people think the dropout tag is only a ploy to attract unprepared pastors to face him and be exposed. In foreign lands, we learn of pastors having signed the papers but never arriving at the debate venue, even after preparations had been set and expenses were paid. The time runs, people are waiting, but nobody arrives. Why? They finally have watched Bro. Eli through the Internet how he would expose dumb pastors just with the Bible as reference. And it was not in a single debate alone that he was able to do this, but in several.

Given that there is no need to pretend what one is not, the young Eli, while leaving his high school must have taught himself so well only so that he could win in debates, defending truth. That was so far the only vestige that linked him to “school.” And because of his love and respect for reason, he had come upon First Principles, upon types of debates (You hear him talking about the Oxford type), upon argumentation, and necessarily the fallacies. So now, no one could win over him!

Tonight, he had just said: “It is impossible for the same thing to be both true and false at the same time. A thing cannot both be and not be in the same respect.” This is the principle of non-contradiction. According to Aristotle, a first principle is “the first basis from which a thing is known.” That explains why in debates, Bro. Eli is often heard asking his opponent, “On what principle is that based?”

It could be that among the young Eli’s books while he was out of high school were those of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. In Church he goes interactive and asks question after question, but answers a question with another question. This is Socratic. It gets you into thinking. And what a way to approach the word of God; it is very much high-level.

Until now, in his early 70’s, it’s very visible that Bro. Eli is studying very hard not to be left behind scientific studies and general information. If he had stayed in school, he would have only studied for exams and only for the passing grades – just like most students. But by going autodidact, he was free to schedule his learning and plan what to study. Placing very high standards upon himself, it is not surprising that he’s very much informed about God’s creation, he had also looked into long-time claims like going to the moon.

Is man going to the moon possible according to what the Bible tells us? One cannot escape the scrutiny of this man who uses God’s word for everything – and doesn’t apologize for telling the truth. This thing too, he had discussed to the congregation – no matter what claims those who “went to the moon” were saying.  When he was younger, his teachers were encouraging him to become a scientist as he loved science. He was naturally inquisitive.

As the Bible is his book, he also had to study writing and the probable intentions of the writer. The more he studied, the sharper his analytical skills got, that he would ask Why, and then the Why of that Why, and the Why of that other why. He arrives at informed conclusions connecting verse for verse. And with the way he uses his analytical skills, the listeners don’t get bored, but are also following as he makes sense of things.

For one, he’s sensitive with numeral adjectives, he doesn’t take them for granted. When he reads words like “twelve,” “all,” and “some,” he checks what they refer to because they’re that important. Twelve what? All what? Without identifying what these numeral adjectives refer to, it could be terrifying!

“And all the people worshiped him” (referring to the beast). “All,” indeed, would be terrifying if you didn’t know what “all” refers to. What did “all” include? Us, too?

And what preacher is he who can sense that a verse was mistranslated? That Bro. Eli’s ears are piqued for any mistranslation reveals years of patience placed at stopping for every word in frequent consultation with Strong’s concordance, just so there is perfection in all translations.

Is there any other preacher who talks about “parameters of truth” who has not determined what truth is by his reference that is the word of God? Obliged to study and study because aside from feeding the flock of the Members Church of God International, Bro. Eli is ever battling the rising tide of false preachers.

This is not a man who easily shies away from schooling. The way he thinks, analyzes things, and lines up his arguments reveal a man who has deeply studied and is still studying so well out of school. And he has for a teacher, a spirit.

This is yet something one has to figure out: his kind of learning (autodidact) and his kind of teacher (spiritual), are more than ordinary. Could this be why God favors him with understanding? This is not to include yet how he had fought as a young man to let the congregation survive. Oh, the many sufferings his little group had to undergo! But look at it now: MCGI has become international, with congregations all over the world.

“It is the spirit of God that teaches. I am also learning from what I am preaching. There are times I didn’t know that I knew those things I am preaching at the moment. They just come in at the proper times. Read your Bible.”

For the claim that Bro. Eli is not of their level, if that meant nothing, nothingness even is something to rejoice about.

“God is not mistaken about me. God values nothingness, or lowliness. And when God chooses, he chooses the least so that they can confound the wise.”

As mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 –

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The physical school is not the singular domain whereby man can be taught –because the true teacher is God. If that were true, why then has no one won over him yet in debates? As Bro. Eli has proven, understanding is a gift from God; it is not to be achieved. As the Bible says, only the wise shall understand, but the wicked will not.

So they can’t say they are perfection and he need not blush in his heart.

Outrageous Claims of the Deceiver or Deceived: The Appointed Son of God”

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2: 15

By Jane Abao

Manila, Philippines (11/13/2018) – There is just one question he who claims he is the “Appointed Son of God,” and now “owner of earth” can be exposed.

Here is a man who, as supposed messenger of God, had tried to simplify things for the supposed believer. And these believers – now seven million of them in the entire Globe – believe his narratives and defend him to death. Yet, they never ask him questions because “asking him about a Bible verse means you are a child of the devil.” In effect, in that group, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, there is no serious study of the Bible but a blatant de-structuring of the God hierarchy to point out who is in control. From there arise so many claims. And many gobble up those claims as Bible truth.

Apollo C. Quiboloy, 68, a Filipino who wrote he is “on a personal ministry,” has simplified what his believers have to believe in. There is no Almighty God, the Father. There is only Jesus Christ and he has become the father. Jesus now the Father has a son, the “Appointed son of God,” the heir of everything – Apollo C. Quiboloy.

Now, this is the question: Where did the Almighty God the father go? Quiboloy refers to Jesus Christ as the Father, therefore he had compounded the two as one. From here, he lines up himself as the “Appointed Son of God.” As to where God the Father went in the hierarchy, Quiboloy is lost and says, that is Jesus Christ. But Christ in the Bible says in John 14:28 “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I said, I go unto the Father: for my father is greater than I.”

But from then on, in Quiboloy’s teachings, there is just “Jesus Christ the Father” and Apollo C. Quiboloy as the son and king. This is what “PttFttSaK” means. When you read the members blurt out or post “PttFttSaK,” it means “Praise to the Father through the Son and King.” The explanation is found in one of Quiboloy’s claims, “I am the way. No one comes to the Father but by me.”

But this is appropriating the words of Christ in John 14:6 where he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me”. Jesus is then pointing to THE FATHER (who is not him), and that he (Christ) is THE WAY – not Quiboloy.

As in the Bible, there are only two personalities being spoken of: God the Father, the creator of heaven and earth, and his son, Jesus Christ. Simply put, the Quiboloy version is this: There is just Jesus Christ the Father and his son and king, Apollo Quiboloy. Hence, God’s son became Quiboloy’s Father so that Quiboloy could be the son.

This merry-go-round of claims freely passing around is blatantly blasphemous, un-biblical at best, yet the claimant is able to gather six million –now seven million, they say – believers around the world.

And the commands are fused in one general command to follow: “Not my will but yours be done.” Written as part of their seal, we ask, whose will? Supposedly Jesus Christ’s who is being wrongly introduced as “the father” by Quiboloy. And Jesus Christ lives in him (Quiboloy). He is the temple, the perfection of what God wants of man. Anyone who follows him will become a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Quiboloy has rocked the world for his audacious claims of ownership of everyone’s soul. Earlier, he was “Appointed son of God” and now is “owner of the earth,” and the world is outraged.

Isn’t Apollo Quiboloy crazy? No, he’s not, if you consider that he writes regular columns for a newspaper. No, if you consider that in the last national elections (2016), he had organized a supposed presidential debate for the candidates. No, if you consider that he has an international Children’s Joy Foundation, has turned hectares of a mountain as “Garden of Eden restored,” and has dressed poor people in white, sent them to school and colleges, put up a chorale of beautiful, young girls adorned with embroidered clothes. Who would not give him all the riches that he needs since he is now “owner of the earth”? That is what he gets for being Appointed Son of God, the heir of everything.

These are excerpts on the JBC website titled “The Spiritual Laws of the Almighty Father’s Blessings” by Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.

“All the gold that is in the central bank of every nation, I own all of that. It is there only because you were made stewards of it. When I claim all that, nobody can stop it. Those gold bars, wherever they are, will grow feet and will walk towards me. It would be better if those banks bring the gold to me before the bars grow their own feet.”

In 2010, an ABC News reporter of New York had interviewed him and asked –

ABC: But in almost all of those cases where there are exceptions, the leaders of those congregations, sell as the Messenger of God but do not claim to be God. You’ve taken it to the level that we find offensive.

PASTOR: How can you become a Messenger of God when you yourself don’t know where He is, how to find Him, and how to live like Him?

Jesus Christ lives within me. That is why I am His Son and He is my Father. I am His body. He’s my Spirit. That’s why when I tell you, I am the way, the truth and the life, I can point to you Who I am pointing to… Jesus Christ, my Father that lives in me. When you find me, you find Him because I will teach you His way and that way is God’s way. It is God’s Will. Can you say of any other religion who can point to me where Jesus Christ lives?

That explains why he has to provide things physical for his people to understand, and he offers himself as “Christ’s body” – one that others find blasphemous. In Corinthians 1:18, the church is mentioned as the “body of Christ” where Christ is the head.

There’s one side of Apollo Quiboloy, though, that makes people conclude he’s far from being a cuckoo. In fact, he’s very intelligent for being able to make millions of people believe in him.

Hear him speak, a well-honed communicator, knowing his timing, his pacing, his tone. He has control over his narratives. He can speak on and on. Of late, the Royal Institution Singapore, an accreditation organization, had awarded him nine honorary doctorate degrees in just a matter of four months in 2018. And these are in the fields of Humanities, Philanthropy, Mass Communication, Environmental Management, and Management (June 2018) and Education, Social Work, International Relations, and Human Resource and Management (September 2018). Before the year ends, there might be some more. https://www.ri2020.com/

This is something unheard of in the whole world. Normally, universities award a single honorary doctorate degree to an individual, and it is not every year that the same individual is awarded an honorary doctorate degree. One can say Apollo had indeed feathered his nest so well to appear brilliant.

These are some of the things that we take note in studying Apollo C. Quiboloy.

1) In dealing with constructs, Quiboloy has mastered the art of compounding the physical with the spiritual. He makes them as one and the same. When he is cornered, he points to the spiritual as his supposed answer.

2) In dealing with language, he is fond of binaries (A versus B). He uses binaries to show differences, but these terms are all his inventions.

3) Dates proliferate the narratives of Quiboloy – from the day he was born to supposed revelations: the time a voice said, “I will use you,” to the time he was told “You are my son,” to when he cursed someone supposed to die in a few months, to when he appointed someone supposed to become President of the Land (Philippines). In these last two, at least, he had revealed himself a false prophet: His pronouncements had failed to come true.

4) The website of Quiboloy keeps deleting old posts and reposting newer versions, resulting in broken links in the files of those who had quoted him earlier than 2018, and obliterating, in the process, the original URL. This happened mostly on the subject of entrustments or claims.

5) When challenged as to his prophecies (what he said would come about), he changes tune. Here’s are examples –

In Quiboloy’s program, there was a question from a viewer:

“You said that Pastor Quiboloy shows revelations. As I remember, in the past, he proclaimed that Gibo [Gilbert Teodoro] was the one appointed by the Almighty Father to win the 2010 elections. But why did he not win? I need to clarify this because I read in the Bible that when a prophet of God speaks a prophecy, it will certainly come to pass. How come it went differently with Pastor Apollo?”

QUIBOLOY: You are mistaken. Let me repeat it, you said, “Pastor Quiboloy shows revelations,” that I proclaimed Gibo as the one appointed by the Almighty Father. Look, I said that Gibo was appointed by the Almighty Father to become our President. What did I say next? We can play again the tape. But I told all the candidates, Gibo is the one appointed by God, like me. Had there been no elections, he would have been our president.

Take note: This last portion was not in the tape – this portion about no elections. In fact, as shown in an earlier video, Quiboloy told Kris Aquino, sister of Benigno Aquino III who won the 2016 elections, who obviously was also baffled by this pastor’s contradictions, “Your brother was the one revealed by God. But I had already given my word to Gibo.”

Whether one is being illogical or furtively philosophical by implying one can be president of the Land without an election but through an appointment by God, or that one can be president because it was the word of Quiboloy, standing as Appointed Son of God, the reality is that nowadays, technology can capture one’s lies and present him as fabricator to the world, a deceiver by all intents – and no one can escape that.

First failed prophecy

What about Quiboloy’s curse on Bro. Eli Soriano, an international evangelist, head of Ang Dating Daan (Members Church of God International)? On February 6, 2005, Quiboloy invoked evil upon Bro. Eli, saying there was a revelation to him.

In a video titled, “Judgment declared to Eli Soriano of Ang Dating Daan” –

“So to the members of this guy, Bro. Eli Soriano, who is now declared a blasphemer in the Kingdom of God, you have six months to leave that group. If you won’t leave that group, you will be included in his judgment. You will all be ushered to hell when you die. Or while you’re still alive, your soul is already marked for destruction.

“All of you that will stay there, I am giving you six months to leave that group. If you won’t leave there, whatever Bro. Eli’s punishment is, the same you will receive.

“So to this group of this leader, I am telling you, get out. So that this group of Eli Soriano… of Ang Dating Daan, your leader is already damned and judged.

“Because… it is not our fault. It is his fault.

“Because last night a revelation came to me. He was declared here and there, in the Kingdom of Heaven, and in the kingdom of Heaven on earth that this guy had crossed the point of no return. He is a blasphemer. He has committed the unforgivable sin.

“So that I will tell you how that revelation came to me, and what will happen to him: He will be afflicted with a deadly serious disease that he cannot overcome and will eat up his guts. What a sore punishment, for a man who is hard-headed because of the sin of pride.”

The evangelist is still alive, 13 years after the curse. But why? The answer of Quiboloy: “Well, I was referring to spiritual death –not physical.”

Apollo’s Furtive Metaphors

Apollo goes beyond simile, he doesn’t compare himself to Jesus Christ. He IS the Jesus Christ. So it’s not like Apollo Quiboloy is like the Son; Apollo is Jesus Christ, himself – according to him.

Here and there, in the references, mostly coming from Quiboloy’s website are metaphors in Apollo’s world that are actually claims. Here are some:

1. I am the Appointed Son of God. [Jesus Christ has become the father, and I am the Appointed Son.]

2. I and the father are one. He took my name and my name is his. That is ‘the new.’

3. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

4. I am the Father’s Standard of Salvation in these last days, the Father’s New Creation. His Temple, His Dwelling Place, His Body, the Manifestation of the Unseen God.

5. I am the Inheritor of all things, the Father’s Representative on this earth today.

6. I am the house of Jesus Christ.

7. I am the second coming. The rapture has already taken place in me. (The second coming of Jesus Christ began when he declared the official coming of the Son on April 13, 2005).

8. All men have to pass through me to get to heaven. Anybody who listens to me, believes and repents, will enter in the Kingdom of God on Earth today, and after judgment, unto eternity.

9. The church age is done with and the Kingdom Age is already fulfilled through me. I am the way.

10. I have overcome all the sinful natures. I am sinless, free of the serpent seed. I am the model.

11. I am the owner of everything. The Third Testament, which is the Book of Fulfilment, is directed to the Appointed Son (ME ) who is the NEW OWNER OF THE WORLD.

12. I am the owner of all souls on earth.

The beginning of My Son – from the horse’s mouth

Apollo Carreon Quiboloy is said to have been a former pastor of the United Pentecostal Church, obviously his source of misconception about God the Father being Jesus Christ also.

On September 1, 1985, he founded his organization, “The Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Name Above Every Name Inc.” with 15 members. Of late, he claims to have six (seven?) million members worldwide, including four million in the Philippines.

According to him, on the night of his birth, Quiboloy’s mother saw a vision of God in the heavens in a white cloud and heard a voice telling her, ‘That’s my son.’ This is the earliest we learn about this Sonship thing, but there is more.

Apollo was born in 1950 near Davao City, Philippines, and is the youngest of nine children of José Quiboloy y Turla and María Carreón y Quinto.

At the age of 14 (1964), the revelation of the second coming came upon Apollo one night. He saw a bright star coming down from heaven which transformed into a figure of God. The Father also told him, “If ye shall seek me, ye shall find me in my way.”

The voice in Korea. “I will use you.”

In 1973 (age 23), Apollo was sent to Korea for the International Youth Conference attended by 186 young people from Canada and America. That was when the Father first spoke to him in an audible voice, saying, “Gamiton ta ka” (Visayan for “I will use you”) which he heard while intently praying.

One significant Wednesday on March 20, 1974 (age 24), Pastor Apollo came down from Kitbog, in Malungon, Sarangani Province, to get supplies from Tamayong. That night, he preached at the United Pentecostal Church (UPC) chapel about the fruit of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit, when suddenly, in a vision only he could see, the Almighty Father anointed him with a heavenly oil called “spikenard.” [Note: 1974 anointed, still with UPC.)

After five years of intense spiritual learning from the Father who was his personal tutor and governor in the Mountain of Tamayong, the Father said to him, “Now, you are my Son.” (Note: This would be 1979, his age 29, from reckoning of “after five long years. 1979 is when he was first told, “Now, you are my son.”)

September 1, 1985 (age 35), Apollo went back to the United Pentecostal Church and brought with him those who believed in his teachings.

For 18 years, (1985-2003), things seemed normal to Quiboloy.

From 2003 onwards, Quiboloy claimed revelation after revelation.

A revelation came to him that his public ministry was over and that the Father has declared him to the whole world as His Appointed Son. That September 13, 2003 (age 53) revelation shook the whole of Christendom. Pastor ascended to the throne as the Son. His Sonship meant that there is now an authority in expressing the rule of the Father on earth.

On April 9-12, 2004, a series of revelations came upon Pastor Apollo. He was given wealth and riches, power even to raise the dead, prestige, fame and honor.

On December 25, 2004, the power of the air was placed in his hands. The Son had conquered the airwaves reaching 200 countries and 2000 cities all over the world through various means of media communication.

Sonship and kingship turn over. Barely two months after cursing Soriano, Quiboloy came up with another new tack. The sonship and kingship of Jesus Christ was turned over to him, he declared.

On, April 13, 2005 came when the Father revealed to the Son that “This is the Day of the Lord,” which meant that the days of man are over. The Father is going to judge everything that is not His perfect will…

The Sonship and Kingship which were lost in the Garden of Eden, redeemed by the Begotten Son when He came, was turned over to His Appointed Son.

Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy is the fulfillment of the purpose why the Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, came.

Second Failed Prophecy

From 2005, Quiboloy remained quiet for some five years until in 2010, he slipped again with a second false prophecy: that Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro is the anointed President for the Philippines. He obviously had failed because Gibo landed a sorry fourth candidate.

Quiboloy anointed Gilbert Teodoro as the next president in the 2010 Philippine presidential election. “Tonight let it be known to all Filipinos that the Almighty Father has appointed the president of this nation. He is no other than Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro”, Quiboloy told thousands of cheering followers. Teodoro finished fourth in the election with 4,095,839 votes (or 11.33%) -Wikipedia

This October 2018, Quiboloy tried to correct himself and said, If there’s no election, then Gibo would be President.

2018 Revelations

Not one to remain quiet for long, Quiboloy became very rich, announcing that he became owner of the world in June 18, 2018. On his website –

The New Owner of the World is here. Last June 18, 2018, the Almighty Father revealed that He has reclaimed the lost ownership of the world and handed it to the rightful heir, His Appointed Son. Satan Lucifer, the devil has already been eased out of deceiving the world because the Father has already appointed a Son in whom He can entrust all things.

Challenges to Quiboloy

My Son. God the Father in the Bible never said of, or to, Jesus Christ, “That’s my son” as though far from him, in a non-committed relationship, or “You are now my son,” as though the son-ship just started after a fact.

The words of the Father in the Bible are introductory, and it carries an endorsement and a command: “This is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased.” (Matt 3:17); “This is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased; listen to him.” (Matt 17:5 and Luke 9:35).

Quiboloy merely took the words of God the Father and projected that they were said of him by Jesus Christ whom he is assigning as “The Father” so that he could be accommodated as “the son.”

Serpent Seed. The “serpent seed” doctrine of Quiboloy comes from looking at free will as evil. But is it? Why did God place it in man if it is evil?

Free will has two sides: one that inclines a person to do the good, and the other to the opposite direction.

Free will is the one that would allow man to develop divine character. By constantly choosing to do the good, man becomes godly, he develops divine character. Without free will, man is just a robot that cannot choose. His capacity to become spiritual is cut off.

Quiboloy sources this serpent seed doctrine of his to the Garden of Eden which he said talks about “original sin,” a doctrine that is not even in the Bible. Eve practiced her will to eat of the forbidden fruit. But she had disobeyed the instruction given not to eat of the one at the center, goaded by the serpent that contradicted the instruction of God. She believed the serpent more than God. Had Eve used her free will to choose the good, then she would have won that war. To remove her will just because she could choose the bad is not serving the purpose of why God made man.

By calling free will as “serpent seed” Quiboloy implies that free will is bad altogether. “Give up your serpent seed” implies that: 1) [Bad] seed had been implanted in man, and 2) The serpent did the implanting. And true enough, Quiboloy has a narrative for that – but is not biblical.

Would God that made man his masterpiece allow the serpent to do some implanting in man?

In Deuteronomy 30:19, God says he has set before man “life, death, blessings, curses” and urges man to “choose life so that you and your children may live.”

In Galatians 5:16-17, God says the spirit and the flesh are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want. Yet man is faced with choices. The capacity to choose is not something evil for man but an opportunity provided to make him develop.

In Revelation 3:20, one has yet to open the door when the Lord stands there and knocks; he does not simply walk in – for the man who does nothing. In all these verses, we see the free will of man at work – to his advantage, should he choose rightly.

The three ages. Apollo makes use of three ages: the “Jewish age,” the “Church age,” and the “Kingdom age,” and in discussions, one can get lost when he says, there is no more need for debates in the Kingdom age. That is his “present” as we know – the Kingdom age.

In his claim for “three-fold ministry,” he says three spirits from the Mosaic, Solomonic, and Prophetic ministry had entered his body.

“When the Father called me, He isolated me in two mountains. He let me go through some spiritual experiences that I never had before. He said, “I’ll give to you the spirits of these ministries: the Mosaic, Solomonic and the Prophetic ministries.” And in those visions, I (and many others) saw myself standing, as three, big, spirit-like men entered my body. The interpretation was of the three ministries – the Mosaic, the Solomonic, and the Prophetic Ministry – entrusted to me by the Father.”

We see now that Apollo has taken control of time, too. Tithing that he requires of his members is from the Mosaic law. Why is it now a crucial command in his Kingdom (age)?

There are no such ages mentioned in the Bible as Jewish age, Church age, and Kingdom age. Such delineations are mere conceptions of Quiboloy to employ them for his own purpose. There are also only two ministries or priesthood mentioned in the Bible: the Mosaic and Jesus Christ’s, just as there is only the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ of the present dispensation.

Begotten Son vs. Appointed Son. He differentiates “Begotten son” from “Appointed son.” Jesus is on Jewish setting and Apollo is on Gentile setting. He is the Appointed Son, and he has a narrative for it.

“That  as  soon  as  the Appointed  Son  was  chosen,  Jesus  Christ  ceased  to  be the  Begotten Son.  He  now  sits  on  the  position  of  the  Almighty  Father  while  the Son  will  be  the  inheritor  and  the  heir  of the Father.”

Thus, as “Appointed Son,” he has become the “Owner of the world,” “Owner of earth,” And that’s why he claims –

“Every man will bow before me to ask for redemption. No one can go to heaven except through me.”

But where did the Almighty Father go? He is compounded with the former Christ so that Apollo takes place as “the son.” The oneness doctrine appears to have come from Quiboloy’s past orientation as a pastor of the United Pentecostal Church.

Appointed son is not mentioned in the Bible. Also, there is only one Son of God mentioned in the Bible and that is Jesus Christ.

“On, April 13, 2005…. the Sonship and Kingship which were lost in the Garden of Eden, redeemed by the Begotten Son when He came, was turned over to His Appointed Son.”

So, did Jesus Christ turn over his work to a human being? What work will Christ do now? Just lounge around?

Latter house vs. former house. “Who is the latter house? I am the latter house. Who is the former house? The one that was built by Solomon and was destroyed by Titus, the Roman General. That house was nothing. Although it was inlaid and outlaid with pure gold, it was nothing because it was made with hands. But this latter house, me, the Appointed Son, where the Father has taken residence, where the Father is now residing, is greater.”

The former house, is of course, physical. The latter house is supposed to be spiritual. But Quiboloy points to “me,” a physical being. Why? Because he thinks people only see with physical eyes. And they only needed to see a physical model to follow.

Much akin to his suggestion that free will should be eschewed because it is “serpent seed,” he removes another opportunity for man to conceive of the spiritual: by offering his body to house the spirit of “Jesus Christ the Father.”

As Quiboloy had virtually responded in an interview with ABC News of New York, man is limited only to the physical.

PASTOR: How can you become a Messenger of God when you yourself don’t know where He is, how to find Him, and how to live like Him? Jesus Christ lives within me. That is why I am His Son and He is my Father. I am His body. He’s my Spirit… I am the model.

But in Hebrews 8:10, clearly God says, I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be my people.”

It is very clear then that there is no need for a human model to be followed because humans are corrupt and are corruptible. The standard is still God and Christ who came in the beginning. And further, God has made it possible that he is reachable, though he is a spirit.

The body of Christ cannot be Quiboloy. The body of Christ is the Church – not a physical being – where he sets apostles, prophets, teachers (1 Corinthians 12:27-28.)

Public ministry vs. Private ministry. Since September 13, 2003, the KJC have become a private ministry as the public ministry of the Appointed Son is over. That is why they in the KJC do not answer attacks. What is being taught by Apollo is “only for the Citizens of the Kingdom.” If you do not accept his teachings, it only means one thing: that you are a “child of the devil.” And why can’t other preachers say “I am the way” as Apollo does? Because they are not true representatives of Christ.Thus far, a defender of Apollo explains. [Translated from Tagalog. Source: Philip Borinaga Calumpag, a Keyboard Defender of Quiboloy’s Cult Exposed]

But this is far from truth. “Private ministry” means to the KJC, the words of Quiboloy are only for those “called-out ones.” This is a wrong interpretation of 1 Corinthians 1: 18 that says, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

Preaching should be done openly. That is the propagation, the sending. Now, it is up to the receiver how he should respond: to accept the word or to look at it as foolishness. But the preacher is to sow the seed, and the kind of soil receiving the seed is not to be imputed to him. Nevertheless, he should still preach.

As for the members, they fight for Quiboloy and they counter-attack – just like ordinary minions. It remains to be seen if they try to check the teachings they receive.

Denominational interpretation vs. Kingdom interpretation: The Second Coming. Quiboloy teaches that the Father Almighty (who he claims is also Lord Jesus Christ) will not come in pomp and glory, or with chariots. That is the denominational interpretation of the second coming, he said.

But because Pastor Apollo Quiboloy had won and resisted every effort of Satan to repeat history, and many more are following after him, man is finally restored back to the Father’s original plan. Man is righteous once more.”

He is the Father’s New Creation. His Temple, His Dwelling Place, His Body, the Manifestation of the Unseen God.

The Kingdom interpretation of the second coming is already happening, they say, – in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth with its citizens.

Nevertheless, Christ is still going to come, and the whole world would know. And it will be with pomp and glory. It will not be limited just to Quiboloy’s church. The Bible says in Revelation 1:7 – Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Quiboloy will then be exposed for who he is. This coming of Christ is promised in the Bible. It is part of the plan of the Almighty God whose entity Quiboloy merely brushed away and had compounded with Jesus Christ.

Continuing instruction: Where to give your tithe. The KJC that Quiboloy leads is imposing the Mosaic Law of tithing or giving a tenth of one’s salary.

Tithing (giving a tenth of all fruits and profits) was required of the Israelites before because they were slaves. It was instituted when there was a need. But it was dissolved when a better priesthood had arrived – the priesthood of Christ. This clearly shows that the priesthood of Quiboloy is not of Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 9:7, the Bible says, Each one of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. This verse does not mention about a tenth of anything.

But Quiboloy says, “I am the fulfillment of the Old and the New Testament. The Word of the Father says, “Do not give just to any place you think is necessary to give.” Give it to the place where His name is found. Where is His name found? In the Temple. Who is the Temple? The Appointed Son. That is where you give it”

Warnings

With all his kind of claims, anyone would get attacked. So, again and again, Quiboloy would give warnings. Here are some –

“Hidden in His new name is my name. That is why He commanded me, wherever His name is being displayed, my name will be under it.”

“The promise is I WILL BE ON TOP ONLY all the days of my life. I shall be above only. So if any man wants me to be beneath him, he is, again, in trouble.

“Do not strive to put me beneath you because you will be in trouble with the Father. His promise to me is, “My Son, you will be above only.”

“How many people want me silenced—from TV and from radio? They do not want to hear me speak, but an angel of the Lord came to me and said, “All debates will cease. Only you will remain heard!” Look at my telecast – it is broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. I am preaching, I am teaching — my voice is heard all over the world.

“I am the most spiritually healthy person because I am the Appointed Son of God. That is why my health has been distributed to all of you.”

The Continuing Challenge

This pastor is well aware that Bro. Eli Soriano, whom he had cursed in 2005, is watching his pronouncements and that Soriano’s challenge to debate with him remains open.

The latest response from Quiboloy is to be paid $20 Million dollars for him to accede to a debate, since in just a two-hour talk on his program, such amount would have been collected. (“Mahal ako ngayon.” I am now expensive.)

But earlier, he said, “Why challenge me to a debate? I am already the truth, the way, and the life! You are carnal and I am spiritual. I am the most spiritual person in the world. Whatever you say is carnal!”

Those answers are empty, of course, and Quiboloy, having nothing to answer Soriano, found fault with the choir of Ang Dating Daan (MCGI). The members are old and should be retired, he said. They are clothed with just curtain materials, he added. Not recognizing that the ADD Choir had won a Guinness World Record for Largest Gospel Choir of 2015, he had compared it with his choir. The KJC choir is peopled with young beautiful Caucasians, with South-Korean hair makeover, overly-dressed from time to time with much embroidery patches on their body, and with jewelries to boot. That is Quiboloy’s pride. That is how he exemplifies what happens to one when people believe in him and his teachings.

Conclusions about Quiboloy

Someone who calls himself “Apologist” says, there are only four conclusions we can reach concerning Quiboloy.

“First, he could be a madman with an intense case of delusions of grandeur. Second, Quiboloy could be deceived. Thirdly, Quiboloy could be a deceiver. A deceiver knows that his claims are not true, but he makes them anyway. The end goal is three-fold: power, popularity, and money.

“Fourthly, Quiboloy could be the savior, but this is highly unlikely since Jesus Christ alone had offered the perfect sacrifice. Jesus Christ alone has resurrected from the dead, now sitting at the right hand of the Father. Quiboloy could not be a savior.

[So], there are only three possible conclusions concerning Quiboloy: Lunatic, deceived or deceiver.”

For him, Quiboloy has a little of these three.

Again, to the question, isn’t Quiboloy crazy? We mention just these two things from Quiboloy himself. Watch his words – if they do not suffice enough for a crucial assessment.

Shying away from confrontation (Translated from Tagalog)

“Look at you; am I afraid to debate? I didn’t even fear Lucifer, how much more for you? But why would I debate with you? I am already the way, the truth and the life. If you did not go through me, you will not go to heaven. How would you debate with me when I am the owner of your souls? I am now the owner of the Earth. Should I debate with you, fools? Who are you? You should come to me, bow, surrender, repent and leave behind your serpent seed and do all the things that I say through the words of my father. If not, you’ll be put in place. I will cast you in the furnace of hell.”

Claiming God tours him to different planets

“Not only this world did the Father show me

Many times he took me there [heaven]

Those planets, I passed by them all.

All of you can’t do that.

Now, you will criticize again, “He said that he passed by the planets.”

So, isn’t he?

Let these Bible injunctions be our guide –

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Peter 2 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false prophets among you, who privily bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

And especially this one –

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. #

__________

References

All the gold. https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/fresh-manna/the-spiritual-laws-of-the-almighty-fathers-blessings/?fbclid=IwAR2u4XZAJFHF4oi2HW9o8F1s1HO5To2PJGmHgbD9H63sqR_fJouLXJHeEbI

Apollo Quiboloy, The Fulfilment of the Testaments. An excerpt from “The Book of Witnesses,” Curated by The Kingdom Royal Scribes, 2017], reposted March 2018.

Appointed Son. https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/who-is-pastor-apollo-quiboloy/?fbclid=IwAR0FiMgzEd5QYP5_gDyBYwCWpxDTUsiDoKlKZ-gmhcTVGyXWOfCF8ecPdwU#becoming_an_appointed_son

Appointed Son. https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/…/apollo-quiboloy-the…/

Awards. https://www.facebook.com/ApolloQuiboloy/posts/10156699518763767).

Claims. http://intensefoolishness.blogspot.com/2008/?m=1

Claims. https://www.lucisphilippines.press/2018/10/i-am-now-owner-of-earth-philippines-pastor-claims.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR3obmzu_Enive_sbHEe74FSp_kCgL0t70OcR7327M5dl0fsFCRUnvjDLB0

Father’s New Creation. His Temple, His Dwelling Place, His Body, the Manifestation of the Unseen God. https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/who-is-pastor-apollo…

Honorary doctorate degrees. https://www.facebook.com/ApolloQuiboloy/posts/10156699518763767

Judgment declared to Eli Soriano of Ang Dating Daan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jztO8m8qgAk

New Owner of the World. https://www.facebook.com/ApolloQuiboloy/posts/10156808402933767?hc_location=ufi

New name of the Father. Sonshine Media Network International. Published on Jun 26, 2018 (YouTube Channel)

Query and response. https://kingdomofjesuschrist.org/query-and-response/

Spiritual laws of the blessings. Warning: I will be on top only. The new owner of the world. https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/fresh-manna/the-spiritual-laws-of-the-almighty-fathers-blessings/?fbclid=IwAR2u4XZAJFHF4oi2HW9o8F1s1HO5To2PJGmHgbD9H63sqR_fJouLXJHeEbI

Travel to solar system. https://www.lucisphilippines.press/2018/11/philippines-pastors-claims-he-travelled-to-solar-system.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR2V4Yg4BBSlvVqHZ6cxE6lkupJA5gUyPYsGuxwAcDSOGaWK3VWc2pLWObM

Three-fold minsstry: the Mosaic, Solomonic and the Prophetic ministries. http://pastorapollocquiboloy.blogspot.com/…/threefold…

Warnings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmlVp1YfJGo

Who is Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy? https://www.apolloquiboloy.com/who-is-pastor-apollo-quiboloy/?fbclid=IwAR0FiMgzEd5QYP5_gDyBYwCWpxDTUsiDoKlKZ-gmhcTVGyXWOfCF8ecPdwU#becoming_an_appointed_son

Why the members do not answer attacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCI-po6Y8g8

Destructive to the mind: Video-gaming not acceptable in the Church of God

MCGI Choir is Current World’s Largest Gospel Choir – Guinness

By Jane Abao

UPDATE, Manila, Philippines (5/25/2016) – On May 22, 2016, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) made an attempt to break the Guinness World Record to Largest Gospel Choir with an alleged 21, 272 participants. They then made an announcement that they broke the record. The announcement was made in defiance about to whom they were supposedly breaking the record. Eagle News of the INC earlier reported: “The current record is 8,688 held by man choir of the Believers LoveWorld Ministry, also known as Christ Embassy on December 2015.”

This is gross violation to broadcast ethics according to the Members Church of God International (MCGI). First, the INC made an announcement of having broken the record. Second, they did not recognise the current title holder that is the ADD Chorale of MCGI that won the award on October 12, 2015 with 8,688 participants.

Understandably, they think winning a Guinness is like a basketball game wherein if you add, you get back the title. The INC was title holder to Largest Gospel Choir on July 27, 2014 with only 4,745 singers. But this 2016 attempt is one that they soon realize is still uncooked. Here’s a video they posted in YouTube saying their attempt still has to be submitted to Guinness. They were forced to admit that this is something “still in progress” upon receiving many complaints from the public that they are lying. Normally, awards from the Guinness World Records are given the same day, the GWR adjudicator being present during the event. But there was none in attendance in this INC event. The reporter who first reported about the attempt had clarified that. There was no GWR Adjudicator in attendance during that May 22,2016 event: a failed attempt to get back the title of Largest Gospel Choir.

Manila, Philippines (1/9/2016) – Guinness World Records (GWR) has recently confirmed that the present titleholder to Largest Gospel Choir is still the Members Church of God International (MCGI) in the Philippines.

The confirmation sought for by MCGI from the reporter’s website and GWR was necessary in the wake of reports that Christ Embassy Choir (No country indicated) is the present titleholder to the record.

On October 12, 2015, Ang Dating Daan, a Bible-based program of the MCGI, was celebrating its 35th anniversary at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines. As part of the celebration, the Ang Dating Daan Chorale sang a medley of gospel songs properly conducted under concert conditions. In attendance were 8,688 choristers as verified by an external auditing firm P & A Grant Thornton using Turnstile counting, barcoded ticketing method. Acting as official witness was Philippine Congressman Neil Tupas. Having met all the requirements listed on the Guinness World Records website to bag the Largest Gospel Choir Category, Adjudicator, Mrs. Fortuna Burke Melhem judged them as the current record-breaker of all time. Melhem congratulated the organization and welcomed the Ang Dating Daan Chorale to the Guinness World Records family. The previous record-holder of 4,745 participants was that of the Iglesia ni Cristo, also from the Philippines.

However, on December 23, 2015, the kingdomboiz.com site reported about a Christ Embassy Choir bagging a Guinness World Record, and it was about being “Largest Gospel Choir.” Incidentally, such false reporting was exploited by enemies to heckle the incumbent titleholder. Guinness’ reply to MCGI’s inquiry proved that the report about Christ Embassy bagging the Largest Gospel Choir award is misleading or at worst, false.

This false report was used widely by members of the Iglesia ni Cristo to heckle MCGI, much more claim that the award won by the latter is fake. INC is publicly known as an archenemy of MCGI. An archenemy, as defined, is one who is extremely hostile or opposed to someone. The Presiding Minister to MCGI, Bro. Eli Soriano, is known to expose false teachings in his Bible Exposition programs, but among all religions, it is the INC that does not take criticisms fairly. The activities of the INC prompted MCGI to find out the truth.

MCGI, among others, challenged the report for the lack of mention of a GWR adjudicator present, the rounded number of 12,000 participants, and the no-show of a clip of the awarding ceremony.

MCGI noticed that a report by a certain Tobisyn in kingdomboiz.com (12/26/2015) mentioned that Christ Embassy choir bagged a Guinness World Record with their 12,000 participants to largest gospel choir.

The report said they sang Christmas songs and carols “to honor Christ on his birthday.” He had asked that the video be shared and by the time of inquiry had 555 shares. The 12,000 was obviously repeated in the paragraphs to underscore the number supposedly beating all others.

MCGI was then tasked to find out. Google search results at Guinness World Records reflect the following (some 13 days after the report said Christ Embassy won as Largest Gospel Choir). The one at top left reflects MCGI (Members Church of God International) as present titleholder.

In their inquiry from both Tobisyn’s group and Guinness World Records, MCGI asked the following: “Did it really happen that Guinness awarded this Christ Embassy Choir with Largest Gospel Choir in December 2015?”

It challenged that the report did not mention any Guinness World Records Adjudicator who was present during the affair.

The MCGI inquiry also wondered about the 12,000 and the absence of a video clip on the awarding, thus –

The rounded number of 12,000 is also a surprise because in life, it does not happen that people come in by rounded numbers. What was the exact number of participants? If at all, why did the video not present the awarding if there was such an awarding?

The video being propagated in kingdomboiz.com and YouTube only shows someone beating at a distance and numbers of people being shot. Meanwhile, Guinness World Records answered the MCGI inquiry (1/9/2016) thus –

The largest gospel choir consists of 8,688 participants and was achieved by the Members Church of God International (Philippines), at the Araneta Coliseum, Manila, Philippines, on 12 October 2015. We can also confirm that an adjudicator was present for the event.

This is the letter from GWR –

And this is about MCGI winning in the Guinness site –

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-gospel-choir

Meanwhile, to date there was no response from the side of Christ Embassy Church although the website says it welcomes inquiries and complaints. A check on Wikipedia says –

Christ Embassy, also known as Believers’ LoveWorld Incorporated, is a Church and Mission Group led by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. It is based in Lagos, Nigeria and has offices in the United Kingdom, United States of America, and South Africa.

Here was Tobisyn’s report that MCGI found as false reporting –

http://kingdomboiz.com/christ-embassy-choir-bags-a-guinness-world-record/

The false report was also replicated in YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwRsB3JHmIM

The MCGI letter reminded the website bannering Christ Embassy Choir that if the report is not true, it does not advance truth. The reporter should correct himself, at best through public apology. The letter ended thus –

A true church would fight for truth and not shield anyone attempting to lie, in the same way that your site should stand for truth. We hope we can correct things so that we won’t be adding to the confusion being propagated in the world.

However, to date, there was no explanation coming from Christ Embassy Church or choir or website. #

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 54,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 20 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

TopTen Judge: Making a Destructive List For Ratings

By Jane Abao

Manila, Philippines (12/92015) – Making a list of “Top Tens” can be subject to abuse. It inherently requires authority, research, and truth. If it is only about material things, there is not much quarrel expected if one does his research. If it concerns people, the higher level of care is imposed upon the one making the list.

Sometime this December this year, the Members Church of God International or Ang Dating Daan as more popularly known, noticed a blog posted by PinoyTopTens or toptendotph titled, “TOP 10 WORST RELIGIOUS SCANDALS PHILIPPINES.” There is no name of author except TOPTEN.PH and there is no date reflected on the blog. However, a check on Google says it was posted on August 26, 2014. That means that blog had been going the rounds for more than a year. That expanse of time for exposure increases the liability of this blog writer.

The blog started with a Bible quote, suggesting that those about to be named are false prophets.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves … For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.” (Matthew 7:15; 2nd Corinthians 11:13)

This is opening paragraph –

If the Church is losing its believers, it would not be because of other faiths – Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS or what-not- it would have been because of implosion: from the inside. Increasingly, priests today have become the Pharisees of long ago. Moneyed, in wheels, untouchables. And where Jesus has walked the Earth almost barefoot, these new leaders cruise in their beautiful SUV’s and preach not by example but by show. At least that’s what we see in the list below. Yes, good leaders still abound. Pope Francis is a blessing, no doubt. But the “Padre Damasos” of today abound. From the looks of it, it seems a Pandora’s box is just waiting to explode. Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!

This is followed by a list of nine catholic priests and bishops. The only exception is that the author inserted Bro. Eli Soriano of Ang Dating Daan in the middle (#5). After each name, the author placed “allegations” but does not show any reference where he got all these stories. Therefore, after each story, he placed: “Alleged offender: XY.”

If we focus on the extraneous one – that of Bro. Eli Soriano – the composition is only 132 words. “Alleged” was used twice: once for what the complainant, Daniel Veridiano, claimed, and once for the name of supposed offender. “Scandal” was also used twice: for the title, “Televangelist Sex Scandal” and its introduction, “Now for a non-Catholic scandal.”

His rendition of the piece in some parts sounded like truth: For example, “On May 2006, rape charges were filed against this charismatic religious leader of Dating Daan. The defiled: his former staff, Daniel Veridiano.” It did not even quote a source. And there’s no indication of the status of the case as if his words were final.

The part on Bro. Eli ended with, “Analysts suspect Veridiano was instigated by INC (Iglesia ni Cristo), a rival religious group to which the complainant now belongs. Said sex offender has been reportedly lambasting the sect to no end.”

While the writer was trying hard to do a semblance of objectivity with the above phrase, he had lumped Bro. Eli with his accusation in the beginning: “Increasingly, priests today have become the Pharisees of long ago. Moneyed, in wheels, untouchables.”

The Questions

First, we take the author to task. What is your name? The readers, more particularly those of Bro. Eli’s camp, are entitled to know who is this accusing who.

Bro. Eli is moneyed? He has businesses established here and there to take care of propagation; in that way he is able to expand more the work of propagation without unnecessarily burdening the members. But to say he is moneyed suggests carrying and using money that is not his own like the Pharisees that he compares Bro. Eli with. The earnings of the businesses he put up are meant to take care of God’s work.

In wheels? Bro. Eli has no private car, but rides public transportations, even willing to wait for hours at terminals. You can see him in international airports also waiting for his turn. Whatever the church provides for his convoy to go to Bible Expositions, he is content with that. He would rather use money for Bible Expositions to reach out to more and more, rather than spend for private property. He has no need for that. He lives in a home where there are many working for the church and backing up his busy activities. The garage, he uses for impromptu broadcasting center.

He is not untouchable? He is even powerless that many cases have been filed against him by the powerful Iglesia ni Cristo. Although most of the cases had been dismissed, there are others yet pending, including this case filed by Daniel Veridiano, himself a self-confessed rapist. It is not yet over as Veridiano has all the backings of the powerful. But your Top Ten #5 implies it is over. [Here’s a peck into Veridiano.] https://jakeastudillo.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/portrait-of-the-raped-man-for-whom-the-interpol-would-mobilize/

Neither is Bro. Eli acting like “the Pharisees of long ago.” You are wrong, mister! More yet, he is not a false prophet. Knowing Bro. Eli well, he would even call you the false prophet hiding under anonymity! Again, what is your name?

Making a List of People

Making a list is not valid, more yet destructive – when it comes to simply naming people. How acceptable is your list? By what means did you make that up? What criteria did you use? Simply put, a judge of one is debatable.

Merely making a list of people is easy but has many pitfalls. In fact, making a list is equivalent to making an opinion and therefore necessitates defending one’s list.

There are several reasons one makes a list, and one of that is to facilitate writing, which writing does not require very much thinking because one can refer to other documents. That works for the individual items that make the list. How about the total make-up of it? How did you judge your entries? How did you make sure the items fit well? In other words, what was your methodology in composing the list?

Juvenile Thinking

It is juvenile to think one can simply make a list and that is truth already. If you make a list about this kind of things, you may be right, you may be wrong, but no one is going to fight you because no one may get offended: Biggest Casinos in the Philippines, Accidents that Kill Pinoys the Most, Common Modes of Transportation in the Philippines, Diseases Killing Pinoys the Most, and Weirdest Food Pinoys Eat, among other material things.

Standards in Practice

It is clear TOPTENdotPH wrote a sexscandal story, supposedly of priests that are “moneyed, in wheels and untouchable.” The supposed offense is sex crime. Unfortunately, Bro. Eli does not even fall under any of these categories. The author had acted as judge, jury and executioner – all in one. When it comes to people, one must be careful in making a list.

Expectations

There are expectations when one makes a list of people and are the following:

• It is a competition and all participants have submitted themselves as willing participants.
• For such submission, all are bound by the rules, one of which is selection from the best of these participants.
• The competition is not meant to bring destruction to participants but to advance and encourage their cause.
• There are judges whose selection have been based upon knowledge, familiarity with the field being judged, and free from bias.
• There is a period covered or a range for which they are Top Ten.

The Danger

Sadly, using the terms, “Top Ten” gives the impression that the list has been vetted. More yet, using the privilege one step more to come up with the name, “ Pinoy’s Top Ten,” for the website’s nomenclature. Do you represent the Filipino people? That is the impression you give.

About all the lists the site has produced, there is not much contention when it comes to simply material things. When people are concerned, however, one must be extra-careful.

This irresponsible blog we are addressing can be subject to cybercrime laws.

What could be the Motive

Bro. Eli’s camp have become wiser. They know, for example, when a giant TV station wanted to exploit the popularity of the preacher for ratings. This station aired a one-sided interview from his supposed accuser. When they opened a sister station, on the first anniversary of that sister station, it aired that controversial interview even after being told that they erred. Now, they are subject to boycott that is going 5 years already.

[You can read the long description about the boycott here.] https://www.facebook.com/kotawinters/info/?tab=page_info

Websites that attempt to exploit Bro. Eli’s popularity can no longer take that tack: the million members of the Ang Dating Daan are not biting. They won’t go to your sites one by one and comment one by one so that traffic will lead to the road going to you, and in the end, make you popular.

Assurance

There’s one thing the public can be assured of: If Bro. Eli Soriano is corrupt in any way: money, sex, character, teachings from the Bible, you can be sure the members of the Church of God International that he is Presiding Minister to, will leave him immediately. There will be no need to destroy him. It will be the very members who can discern right away if he is.

But to include him in your list of corrupt Roman Catholic priests and bishops, that is not acceptable. You have to answer for that.

Zero Rating

And by the way, here’s about TopTen.ph as described by HotSiteD:

Overview: Topten.ph has a global Alexa ranking of 340,912 and ranked 12,146th in Philippines. The global rank improved 104,105 positions versus the previous 3 months. The website server is using IP address 67.20.76.113 and is hosted in United States. The Google page rank of this website is 0/10.

You rank zero on Google!

So enough is enough!

Iglesia ni Cristo: Snapping Dissent with Familiar Patterns

By Jane Abao

Manila, Philippines (August 15, 2015) – What did experts think about the dissent within the Iglesia ni Cristo?

The INC is facing a crisis. That’s very clear from recent news. Critics claim that the leaders of the group are wasting money citing the millions of pesos being spent for their airplane. Rappler reports-

The Airbus that [Eduardo] Manalo and his ministers are using is aside from a Boeing Business Jet 737 that had been described as “the best-selling jet airliner in the history of aviation.” Depending on the model, a passenger business jet can seat from 85 to 215 passengers, while a customized executive jet can have a bedroom and seats good for 20-30 passengers, sources familiar with aircraft told Rappler.

The Boeing Business Jet 737 is said to have been purchased 4 years ago at an estimated price of about P3.6 billion ($80 million), the sources told us. Yearly maintenance costs of these types of aircraft, according to those in the know, easily amount to from P3 million to P4 million. This excludes fuel expenses. (http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/100445-iglesia-leaders-billions-pesos-aircraft).

Added to this is abduction of ministers who were critical of the administration. Lowell Menorca’s case, for one, is intriguing. (http://www.rappler.com/nation/100501-inc-minister-lowell-menorca-released). There are allegedly no abductions happening. This is denied by the church. (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/707413/what-split-what-corruption-iglesia-ni-cristo-spokesman)

But they immediately excommunicated some critics including the mother and brother of the Executive Minister, Eduardo Manalo. (http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/07/23/1480126/iglesia-ni-cristo-expels-leaders-mother-brother)

They even filed libel cases against the critics. (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/07/28/15/iglesia-ni-cristo-sues-expelled-minister-libel)

The crisis is not yet over as the critics try to create a movement “to return the church to its old splendor when it first began with Felix Manalo.” (See Nehemiah Ecclesiastes, Official videos, Facebook, 8/10/2015).

What is happening with the Iglesia ni Cristo? Where is the Iglesia headed for?

Four sources have invariably discussed what is happening with the Iglesia ni Cristo through their own platform: a professor of Philippine Studies, a Sociologist of Religion, a Bible Scholar, and a minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo who left his organization with many questions on his head.

The professor of Philippine Studies was asked about what he thought about the INC controversy. The sect is usually secretive, he said. There is a need for transparency.

Written by Joe Torres (ucanews, 8/10/2015), the interviewee noted that secrecy is one of hallmarks of this religious sect. In “Public rift puts 101-year-old Philippines sect under spotlight,” he highlighted the need for transparency. Here’s part of the report –

David Michael San Juan, professor of Philippine Studies at De La Salle University in Manila, said the public rift represents a crossroads for the usually secretive sect.

“The rift may weaken it if it fails to address concerns on transparency and other issues,” he said. “The rift may strengthen it if it leads to more transparency in their highly respected institution.”

In other words, secrecy in the sect has contributed to their undoing. San Juan said some issues that church members raised are valid and that includes the allegation about certain ministers trying to extort money from politicians, and the allegation that church funds for being used for some leaders’ luxury. These are public issues, he said.(http://www.ucanews.com/news/public-rift-puts-101-year-old-philippines-sect-under-spotlight/74040)

Earlier, Rappler.com posted a Podcast titled “Saan patungo ang Iglesia ni Cristo?” (Where is the Iglesia ni Cristo bound for? (8/8/2015). Jayeel Cornelio a Sociologist of Religion is said to point to some INC growth at another level: “religious worldling.”

Worldling is inherently negative, but as the column of Cornelio proposes the concept of “religious worldling” to explain what is happening with the INC, he lauds the group in terms of sophistication in the positive sense.

The Director of Development Studies Program of Ateneo in “INC, Philippine Arena, and religious worldling” was theorizing that with the mammoth Philippine Arena, the INC has achieved some sophistication.

Worldling

WorldlingDotOrg says the term “worlding” cannot be found in any dictionary, even though the term has been in use for nearly a century. Martin Heidegger is said to have popularized the neologism in his 1927 Being and Time to mean “being-in-the-world.”

A worldling is a person who is primarily concerned with worldly matters or material things. As applied with the Iglesia ni Cristo, the focus was on expansion – material at that, with the Philippine Arena giving the high point of assessment.

Now, we come to a preacher. What did he think about this INC crisis? It is a judgment from God says Bro. Eli Soriano, Presiding Minister to the Members Church of God International (MCGI). Do not mistake that for “pagsubok” or trial. Only fanatics insist it is trial, and that corruption is being revealed only now. No, that church has been corrupt from the beginning, he says.

Soriano’s blog says it best. In “Gravity Floating Up All Secrets of Secrets,” he writes –

What is obtaining now with the Iglesia ni Cristo ni Manalo is that in spite of their indoctrinated secrecy of what they do, a force from above is making those secrets surface. Undoubtedly, it is the power of God! That group has long been practicing the act of covering up ugly matters inside their church, of bringing them down, and layering them into secrecy.

But what they did to five PUP students in secret, for example, came out. The case said their members involved mangled the victims’ bodies at the basement of their chapel. The dead bodies floated and were fished out from the muddy Pasig River!!!! (See Supreme Courts Annotated, Vol. 339, August 28, 2000 on the case People vs. Abella).

In an attempt to flush the killing off, the river was the supposed solution. But the bodies floated up to witness against the killers.

What did Soriano think about what’s happening?

Can we say this is like the Cambrian Period where it is said there is a massive explosion of revelation? (Note: I do not believe in the Cambrian Period being an explosion).

We cannot say that corruption in the Iglesia ni Cristo ni Manalo evolved! What is true in the Cambrian Period is collaterally true with the INC of Manalo. Since its inception, there are the corrupt practices of its ministers! It is proven by the very words of Eraño Manalo, second generation Executive Minister, that the corruption among the present generation of his ministers was inherited from ministers pioneering their works of corruption! It was earlier proven by a circular signed by Felix Manalo, first generation Executive or Presiding Minister, himself revealing the corrupt practices of his pioneering ministers. (http://www.controversyextraordinary.com/2015/08/gravity-floating-up-all-secrets-of.html)

Finally, we look into a minister who left the INC.

On a circular read in the whole district of Leyte, July 25, 2015, Joven O. Sepillo Sr is excommunicated for allegedly fighting the Administration and circulating false information with the objective of troubling the church. Sepillo Sr. said he had decided to come out in public to clear out his name against this charge.

Sepillo, Sr. an INC minister for 29 years but excommunicated by the Sanggunian together with his family, was bidding goodbye to his calling as minister for what he considered to be irreconcilable to his principles. He was expelled instead. The following are excerpts from his post [translated from Tagalog] centered on many questions similar to those being voiced out by other excommunicated INC ministers –

If only I left in an orderly way, it would not reach this far, they said. Is what is orderly, bidding goodbye without mentioning any shenanigans and not calling the Administration to counter these? Have they found out that there is no corruption going on now? Has the Administration done an honest-to-goodness investigation to protect the Sanggunian from false accusations? If they have but the ones told to investigate are themselves the accused, will justice be seen by the brethren who are looking for truth?

I am sad that what is often heard from the Spokesman of the Iglesia regarding critics is that they are only defaming without showing any evidence. Those opposing corruption are shown as evil and creating trouble in the church. They are the ones being persecuted, threatened, and done with, just to silence them.

Is there no one from the Sanggunian who will stand for truth? Shall we only wait for the hand of God to render judgment on the guilty? They may have forgotten that it is a Nation of God that they are managing.

The root cause of these troubles now is the change of perceptions among ministers about their supposed life in the ministry. Some are not aware that this is where corruption entered in – the supposed lifestyle of ministers. (See post by Jorge. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/711261/doj-secures-3-expelled-iglesia-ni-cristo-members).

Interpretations

San Juan, the professor, said secrecy has not done good to the INC. He considers that some of the issues raised by the members of the INC are public and therefore valid.

Cornelio, the sociologist says the INC has come to religious worldling, a sophistication that he tends to congratulate, although it is not about being godly but worldly. Cornelio has barely scratched the surface and his basic fault is the color of his tone. He provides no proper guidance for the reader since his moral compass is also faulty. Notice his use of the term, “Moral Economies.”

At the bottom of his column is written this part:

Some parts of this column are derived from the paper Cornelio presented at the international workshop “Emerging Moral Economies in Southeast Asia” at L’ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris in June 2014.

This italics part in a way explains the deficiency in Cornelio’s analysis. The original material was written one year before this public clash between the Manalo brothers with the Sanggunian on the side of Eduardo Manalo, the incumbent executive minister. Where was Cornelio all the time?

The column of this Sociologist of Religion is pathetically dead and deaf to events that have recently unfolded and still are. There was no attempt at updating. He had disregarded the fact that the INC members question the purpose of the mammoth building and even as basic as its maintenance. This is moral economy for Cornelio?

The second review of this Jayeel Serrano Cornelio talks of “restorationist ethos” of the INC but still suggests a patronizing attitude. With all the news coming out from many quarters, one would wonder if Cornelio is a PR man for the INC. His article of August 13, 2015 says –

The church espouses a restorationist ethos as it claims to be the one true church called to take Christianity back to its original character and form of worship. It has several distinctive elements, among which is the absolute oneness doctrine that pits it against the Trinitarian mainstream in the Philippines.

Its founder, Felix Y. Manalo, is believed to be the fulfillment of a biblical prophecy that in the last days, an Angel from the East will arise. The church has therefore effectively sacralized the Philippines as a nation that plays an instrumental role in the last days.

The church’s unity is also one enduring source of pride for its members.

Unity manifests itself in different ways, such as doctrinal uniformity and submission to the leadership. Members are expected to heed their ministers, for example, on matters of faith and interpretation of Scriptures.

Members also fall in line during national elections, voting as a bloc for whatever candidates church leaders tell them to support. Members cannot take each other to court nor can they marry nonmembers. Even the predictable neo-gothic architecture of its churches is evocative of Iglesia ni Cristo’s institutional unity.  (http://www.ucanews.com/news/after-101-years-growing-pains-for-philippines-iglesia-ni-cristo/74075)

One wonders now how Cornelio was educated. Was he taught to think critically?

Here’s a quote from Albert Einstein’s Ideas and Opinions (1954). It emphasizes the importance of bracing all education with critical thinking principles and the development of character – no matter what specialization.

It is not enough to teach a man a specialty. Through it he may become a kind of useful machine but not a harmoniously developed personality. It is essential that the student acquire an understanding of and a lively feeling for values. He must acquire a vivid sense of the beautiful and of the morally good. Otherwise he – with his specialized knowledge – more closely resembles a well-trained dog than a harmoniously developed person. He must learn to understand the motives of human beings, their illusions, and their sufferings in order to acquire a proper relationship to the individual fellow-men and to the community.

It’s a waste of time when a sociologist of religion writes without first manifesting on the environment. It is even dangerous that he professes to teach the Catholic world about the INC. If he is writing for United Catholic Asia News, he is only misleading the people there. Has he come across what the critic ministers are saying? There’s a Farley de Castro that is often reported by Ces Drilon of ABS-CBN. De Castro is one of the INC ministers excommunicated. Here are excerpts (translated from Tagalog) from his talk (Part III) –

They are just running away. They just do not want to answer the many questions about the anomalies and corruption issues happening now in the church.

Why don’t they answer? They said they will answer the questions last Tuesday [August 4, 2015] during the Prayer Meeting but they dealt with another topic. Aren’t they liars? And until now they haven’t answered the questions regarding anomalies in the church.

In Part II, here are some of Farley de Castro’s words [translated from Tagalog] addressing his brothers –

We saw how the words of God were used as basis in persecuting and abusing others by those who have no right. The abuse and wrong use of the words of God to deceive and make the brethren believe to accept their deeds and their reasons. Our poor brethren, our brethren who cannot do anything but follow.

But my question is, why is this done in the management of ministers? They said, isn’t it true that this church won’t apostate anymore? Yes, but many individuals will apostate if they do not move – if we don’t help them, if we don’t love them. Most of them are poor but with full faith, giving their all with readiness.

But our offerings are being wasted in a lifestyle meant only for personal interest.

He addresses Eduardo Manalo, the Executive Minster, and asks many questions, even an intriguing one about the spirit that dwells at their Central. [Note: Central refers to the main headquarters of the INC).

Bro. Eduardo, I have been hearing you for a very long time and I know that you love the church. But why now, why did you allow the church to go this way?

Didn’t you know that from the beginning the church would become like this if your wife will always intervene? Because this was the order of Bro. Eraño G. Manalo before he died. Why is it that we who are standing for righteousness are the very ones being expelled? Is it really true that the spirit of the devil thrives at Central? We love you, Bro. Eduardo.

Didn’t you know from the beginning what your mother and your brother wanted, especially Bro. Angel? Didn’t you know that never did he want to grab your rights? Didn’t you know that they only wanted to let the church restored from the beginning when the messenger of the last days started it? May God have mercy and remember his nation.(https://www.facebook.com/NehemiahEcclesiastesOfficial/videos/vb.414257252092254/440362976148348/?type=2&theater)

If Cornelio had scanned the environment well before writing, he would know that there’s no honest attempt at “restoration ethos” in the way he presented it. There is logically no restoration ethos where communication lines are not open. As a consequence, there’s no restoration ethos where the leader is found decidedly weak and indecisive, cutting off links even with his very own mother and siblings.

What sorely obtains is more of a group confronting the administration and calling for a movement (kilusan) to force a return to the old set-up (physical) – because things are not normal. The resolution they basically wanted was for Eduardo Manalo not to listen to his wife, some peace, and a simple life style for the ministers. For a restoration ethos to materialize, it should start from the head having the drive, the discipline, and the desire. It should not come from the few critics at the side. But clearly, when a fish rots, it begins from the head.

As expected, there’s no response from his side. From all accounts, he and his men were not even answering questions of their brethren who wanted at least the children of Eraño Manalo to be back to their posts and their power restored. But Sociologist Cornelio appeared more of writing public relations pieces, taking extreme care lest he mention any fault. One is inclined to think he is an INC trolling in United Catholic Asia News, ready to neutralize whatever is written against the INC. That is barely a way to be helpful to society as a sociologist of religion.

Back to interpretations, when it comes to religion, the most that should be consulted are those that handle the words of God for this is the commodity in question. What is happening now? Preacher Soriano declares it is a judgment from God that the INC is being revealed as corrupt even from the beginning.

Admitting that he is the fiercest critic of the INC, Soriano would examine their beliefs and practices now and then – would answer to questions about the INC in his regular Bible Expositions. For that, he has attracted many court cases filed against him by the INC – including threats on his life. These have all become the drama that the broadsheets, the TV and the Internet would banner for several years.

The preacher talks about disturbing familiar patterns in the way the INC reacts to dissent – coming from his experience with the INC and paralleling those reported in the news. These practices and their attendant difficulties have been inflicted on him and those of others he knew, but never in his mind did he imagine they will happen to the very members of the INC.

What about the INC minister who had decided to leave his ministry? Sevillo Sr, the expelled INC minister, tends to agree with all of these three experts: (1) There is lack of transparency in the INC as pointed out by Prof. San Juan; (2) The INC has become worldly-wise as discussed by Sociologist Cornelio, but in the sense that it has become materialistic; (3) Corruption is with them according to Preacher Soriano, yes; but judgment may not have come yet. Sevillo Sr. seems hesitant to admit God’s judgment happening at this time, but he uses it as a warning stick against Eduardo Manalo’s administration. He adds a fourth one, his own interpretation of events: (4) The lifestyles of the ministers have led to this organizational upheaval

Like other INC’s who have began to doubt why these things are happening within them if they are a true church, Sevillo Sr. is still staying with the INC despite what he had observed. His belief is intact – presumably including the belief that Christ is mere human being.

Bro. Eli and the INC

As dissent within the INC develops amidst efforts to counter them – mostly suppress them – the following chips have in many forms bobbed up like familiar patterns of a template observed in the past: (a) Pressure on the Department of Justice, (b) Use of the National Bureau of Investigation as a personal bodyguard, (c) Framing up for a charge of rape, (d) Case closed case unclosed, (e) One-sided media, (f) Assignment to kill, (g) No mercy, (h) Humiliating the victim, (i) Hounding the leaving or those who criticize, (j) Gunshots fired at the home, (k) Brainwashing the members.

These were so in the case of Bro. Eli Soriano, the foremost critic of the INC. The INC has applied all of these to him and the people with him.

Aren’t these parts of the culture of the Iglesia ni Cristo? Why do they repeat themselves and this time on their very own people? It is not enough to just mention them as how they are worsening, only the victims can tell. But definitely politicians are wittingly or unwittingly part of the whole scheme. We will look into five of these practices later.

As defined in the dictionary, dissent is the expression or holding of opinions at variance with those previously, commonly, or officially held. Synonyms are disapproval, disagreement, difference of opinion.

But not all dissent is bad. Some are good when truth is king as in the case of critiquing their beliefs by Preacher Soriano and disapproving of maltreatment of the family of Eraño Manalo by Sevillo Sr.

In brief, here are how the familiar patterns have come into Bro. Eli’s life: He, as a bible man, believes he should correct whatever practices he finds are not biblical. That is part of his commission. But the INC is one that takes criticisms to the point of wanting him killed, if not imprisoned (with false charges), and humiliated before the world.

That explains how Luisito Amansec, a former INC hitman, found out the truth about the preacher and confessed that he was around to bump Bro. Eli dead. He became a member of the MCGI instead. Lying has long been with the INC ministers that Bro. Eli is not what they picture him to be. Amansec realized that his heart learned mercy for the first time when he saw Bro. Eli, long pictured as evil in the Iglesia ni Cristo.

In a case for libel where Bro. Eli won, video tapes and DVD’s had been provided to the court where INC ministers were calling him names like “dayukdok,  “mandarambong, “mongongotong,’ “matakaw sa pera,” “Seaman-loloko,” among many other names through their program, Ang Tamang Daan. In English, they mean starved, plunderer, extortioner, money-hungry, and deceiver. They were doing this but MTRCB never sanctioned them.

Bro. Eli also had provided proofs that the INC had distorted his speeches and commentaries to prove consistent patterns of mangling of tapes by the Iglesia ni Cristo on statements made by him. An example was when Soriano was asking for 3.6 million on January 10, 2004; the mangled tape was shown in Ang Tamang Daan aired over Net 25 on March 29, 2004 that Soriano was asking for 6 trillion.

A discussion of these can be found in the court records of Criminal Case No. Q-05-136679 filed for libel for an Ang Dating Daan TV program aired on January 21, 2005 with Ramil T. Parba as representative complainant of the Iglesia ni Cristo along with Marianito Cayao and Bernardo Santiago.

Accused were Eliseo Soriano, Danilo Navales, Jocel Mallari, and Luzviminda Cruz, all anchors of Ang Dating Daan program on TV. This libel case was dismissed for lack of evidence. Cayao and Santiago are former members of MCGI having been excommunicated by Bro. Eli and then later joined the INC. What the MCGI throws away for spiritual filth, the INC accepts.

INC hates dissent. It also explains why Lydia Manuyag, former INC auditor from Central Diliman was straffed at her home for speaking in SBN21 where she had corrected Bro. Eli. The preacher was quoting the magazine, SAY, that Manalo is a billionaire. Trillionaire, said Manuyag, not billionaire. Afterwards their home was straffed. Lydia’s husband, also a former INC member, was hit with four bullets.

It also explains why Daniel Veridiano, Bernardo Santiago, Marianito Cayao and their kind who have been excommunicated by Bro. Eli for several offenses, have, in turn, been used against the preacher as either complainant or witness.

If media can be used against people especially the TV, it has not been forgotten that Soriano is a victim of this trick, which is why until now the Members Church of God International (MCGI) are boycotting GMA7-11. It is to send a strong message that it is not taking things sitting down. The dramatization in the interview with Daniel Veridiano in “Paninirang Puri, Case Unclosed” presented the Church leader as a shameless old man devoid of the knowledge of the Bible and hungry for sex – and for the same gender yet. The members were pictured as fools – laggards with the brain of a shrimp. This had been so after the Interpol caper has failed. Interpol whom the INC had access to, had found out that the Bro. Eli whom enemies wanted to humiliate before the world is not in hiding – and is even a man of God – not a sex-starved fugitive as the dramatization painted him to be.

The interviewee was Daniel Veridiano, excommunicated from MCGI where Soriano is Presiding Minister to. Veridiano became a member of the INC. By twist of faith, it is GMA being boycotted by MCGI for 5 years now for what they did to Bro. Eli and the organization. 

What about GMA 7-11? Earlier, it had made Daniel Razon to decide whether to remain as anchor and restrict his language when referring to the Iglesia ni Cristo, or resign. If he does not like restrictions, the INC may boycott the station. Where? On stage when he preaches to the congregation of the MCGI or Ang Dating Daan (as the church is more popularly known). Razon is Soriano’s nephew and the appointed next-in-rank to Bro. Eli. At the same time, he was working for GMA. But he chose to leave GMA rather than restrict his language – not even in anchoring but in preaching in church.

Imagine GMA representing the INC and asking one to restrict his language – and in another venue yet? Why does INC use GMA to restrict one’s language outside of the studio that is the very workplace of Razon? Can’t he preach before the congregation without an outsider’s intervention? Why did religion have to involve a TV station?

The Australian Journalists’ Code of Ethics says in #8 rule:

Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

There is an equivalent in the Code of Ethics of the Philippine Press Institute and the National Press Club of the Philippines in #5:

I shall not let personal motives or interests influence me in the performance of my duties nor shall I accept or offer any present, gift, or other consideration of a nature that may cast doubt on my personal integrity.

INC hates being critiqued. That explains why the NBI had been used to raid the ADD Convention Center in 2001 on a simple charge of libel filed by the INC. The director at that time was Reynaldo Wycoco, an INC member. They came in full-battle gear looking for Bro. Eli whom they could not recognize though they talked to him. Wycoco was reported preparing another raid in 2005 when he succumbed to heart attack.

The MTRCB had suspended the Ang Dating Daan TV Program including all the anchors at least three times in the past at the behest of the Iglesia ni Cristo. One time, it was because Bro. Eli was calling them Iglesia ni Manalo that they took as insult.

BELOW: Thousands upon thousands of people gathered in front of the Human Rights Commission in the Philippines to show their support to Brother Eli when the latter was indefinitely suspended by the MTRCB from appearing in any television program. The Human Rights Commission later ruled in favor of Brother Eli stating that the MTRCB committed a grave abuse of authority against the preacher.

The Department of Justice also through Secretary Raul Gonzalez had been utilized to persecute Bro. Eli.

A rape charge filed against him was dismissed as the investigating prosecutor found no probable cause to prosecute Soriano. The judge believed that Veridiano’s accusations were all lies and fabricated. Filed sometime before October 5, 2005, the case was dismissed on January 26, 2006. It was penned by Alexandro Lopez, Asst. Provincial Prosecutor and approved by Jesus Manarang, Provincial prosecutor, Province of Pampanga, San Fernando City. The case highly considered the rift going on between the INC and the ADD.

But the dismissed case was ordered re-filed by the Office of the President Gloria Arroyo, one widely known as supported by the INC through bloc voting.

Media People Talking

Why do we allow these things to happen? Columnist Conrad de Quiros, in exasperation, asked this question. He mentions about the INC’s habits of “trying to keep certain prominent citizens out of jail or, in the case of public officials, keeping them in power.” He also questions why we allow the Iglesia ni Cristo meddling in the justice department, and interfering in elections, among many others.

Here are excerpts from de Quiros’ column –

The INC has grown over the years to become the second biggest church in this country. You’ve got to wonder, though, what it is asking its fold to do. Over the same years it has grown, it has been trying to keep certain prominent citizens out of jail or, in the case of public officials, keeping them in power.

Not too long ago, the INC made headlines by railing against the government for axing Magtanggol Gatdula, the director of the National Bureau of Investigation and an INC stalwart. P-Noy himself did the axing after finding out that Gatdula had a hand in the illegal detention of a Japanese fugitive. Despite De Lima’s strenuous attestations that the justice department did its homework before recommending Gatdula’s dismissal, the INC complained that he was not given a chance to explain.

All of these must make us ask: Why do we allow this?

Why do we allow the INC to begin with to interfere in elections? We know that INC members vote as a bloc for the candidates of their leaders’ choosing. We know this because that church doesn’t bother to hide it; it parades it as one of the reasons for joining it or currying its favor….This is out-and-out flouting of the separation of Church and State, a thing expressly forbidden in a democracy. And yet we see no law stopping it, and yet we see only politicians seeking to profit from it.  (http://opinion.inquirer.net/29267/why-do-we-allow-this#ixzz3ilLClbI2)

It’s not only de Quiroz questioning the behavior of the INC as an organization. Here’s an excerpt from what Blogger Jake Astudillo wrote about INC power in government offices –

The morbid interest of the INC for critical posts in the national government is quite disturbing too and even the high courts of the land are not spared. The Supreme Court has some justices and other people therein known to have been highly recommended by the INC and cannot be said to be free from public perception of being stooges for the INC.

The same is true for the National Bureau of Investigation, and for other offices under the Office of the President. One of these is the Movies, Television, Radio Censors Board (MTRCB) where the INC cries to as its favored valid court every time their beliefs are being scrutinized. At least, that was the experience of Bro. Eli Soriano. Maria Consoliza Laguardia used to hold fort as head censor of the MTRCB and decides matters upon the behest of the INC.

Jake Astudillo mentioned Lawyer Panopio’s analysis, Reporter Romero’s observation, and Author Vitug’s book. Panopio had underscored INC’s influencing court litigation results; Romero and Vitug were aware of INC recommending justices where these justices decide in favor of the Iglesia ni Cristo once put into place. More from Astudillo –

Not everyone is cowered by the INC influence, however. An enterprising young lawyer found that unconstitutional powers are being interpreted as vested in the MTRCB. James Benedict Panopio, in his analysis of the MTRCB rulings on suspension of the Ang Dating Daan (ADD) programs on TV said the INC should seek redress in the courts instead of the MTRCB. It is not a secret that litigations are highly the interest of the INC where they try to influence results, one of which is the Barrameda case, he said. 

Purple S. Romero of Newsbreak took note that Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. of the Supreme Court is publicly known to have been highly recommended by the INC. Marites Vitug, in her book, Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court, gave the same observation. For three days after the publication of her book, Vitug was receiving death threats on her mobile phone.

And Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr? He was the ponente or decision writer or justice in charge of the case in the Supreme Court sustaining suspension of Ang Dating Daan upon the complaint of the Iglesia ni Cristo. “Political considerations may have come into play in the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the suspension of the religious group Ang Dating Daan’s TV program according to court insiders we talked to,” said Newsbreak reporters. In earlier reports, Newsbreak through Romero surmised that the ruling of the Supreme Court was to please the Iglesia ni Cristo. It was not exactly a legal reason, the report said. The report is interesting in that the dissenting justices pointed to suppression of the freedom of speech in their decision.

And Justice Velasco? Of all people, why did he not inhibit himself from the case, considering his links with the Iglesia ni Cristo? With just their endorsement, the message is clear: they expected someone to exchange favor with. And as venial as one can be, if your ambition is lying in wait for an invitation, you can be used and finally play the willing tool. But it takes two to tango.(https://kotawinters.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/are-we-now-going-to-give-the-country-to-bloc-voting-people/)

Familiar Patterns

These familiar patterns keep repeating themselves. Are we that weak to resist? Recent events with the INC and INC influence show the following:

1) Intervening with the Justice System

A recent news report stated that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has directed National Bureau of Investigation Director Virgilio Mendez to discipline an official who declared earlier that the bureau’s probe on the alleged abduction of 10 ministers of the influential Iglesia Ni Cristo was deemed closed. (http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/08/04/doj-iglesia-case-still-open/#

Written by Rey E. Requejo titled “DOJ: Iglesia case still open”(Manila Standard, 8/04/2015), De Lima was said to have made the statement reiterating that the authorities are still investigating the supposed abduction of INC ministers. This was in contrast to the claim of NBI Anti-Organized Transnational Crime Division chief Manuel Eduarte that the case is now considered closed.

De Lima was reportedly surprised said Eduarte had declared the case was closed when he is not even involved in the investigation nor part of the team.

A check into records show that Eduarte is a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

Not long after, The Daily Tribune came out with “Binay asks De Lima to stop ‘reckless’ statements vs INC” (Tribune Wires, 8/07/2015) (http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/binay-asks-de-lima-to-stop-reckless-statements-vs-inc)

The report said Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay had advised Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to refrain from giving “unwarranted statements” on the alleged abduction of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) ministers.

In a letter to De Lima, the Vice President said he felt compelled to “call your attention to the unwarranted statements you have been expressing in the mass media in your capacity as Secretary of the Department of Justice asserting that the alleged abduction of ministers of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is not yet a ‘closed’ case.”

Binay reportedly noted that De Lima’s statements contradicted the findings of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) authorities that conducted the investigation.

“It taxes credulity that you had to publicly contravene the findings of the NBI Anti-Organized Transnational Crimes Division, which itself conducted the investigation on the alleged abduction,” the Vice President said.

“According to your own people in the NBI, no such abduction took place, which finding is bolstered by the fact that there is no complainant who has come forward to attest to its commission. In short, there is apparently no crime committed or being committed,” he added.

If there was no abduction that happened, why are there many complaining from diverse places? Would it hurt to check if there are? What is the hurry in Manuel Eduarte in trying to close the lid and in Binay pressuring the DOJ Secretary if there are lives involved?

2) Riding on one-sided media for personal agenda

The Daily Tribune is also the one that reported earlier on Jose Norelito Fruto, 50, of Amparo Road, Nova Ville Subdivision, Novaliches in “Bogus gay doctor apprehended for molesting Caloocan student” by Arlie O. Calalo (The Daily Tribune, 07/14/2015).

Fruto was one of the INC ministers picked up earlier for questioning regarding the Antonio Ebanghelista blogs that blared corruption issues within the Iglesia ni Cristo.

The report said a 22 year old man (Robert Anthony, not real name) was allegedly sodomized by Fruto and that a CCTV tape showed at least the first of two incidents, the first one (July 4) inside the victim’s house, and the second one inside Fruto’s home.

This Daily Tribune report was used by the INC against Fruto as the “proof” to truth, just as they used it against Justice De Lima. It is clear that The Daily Tribune is not as popular as other broadsheets. The comments are scanty and are lorded over by INC members who spam the same comments over and over.

In the case where Binay berated Justice Secretary De Lima whose group is trying to look into reports of abduction, media was also used in impressing to the public which case is closed or unclosed.

3) Promoting lying and falsehood

Letters posted on Social Media by those expelled show that they were being forced to do things against their conscience. Here’s one written by Joven O. Sepillo Sr –

On July 18, 2015, my name was written in social media as one among those ministers who were abducted and could not be seen. We told our contacts that we are safe and not abducted. My family were wondering why my name was included there when we are just silently doing our responsibilities in the Locale of San Roque in Tolosa Extension, Leyte East District. Who could have done that and what was his aim?

On July 21, I was made to produce a video and say, “I am INC.” I cooperated and did the video according to the order of Bro. Rommel Sanvictores of INCTV and then sent it through email. My family felt safe then that when the video will be shown, it will be clear that I was not abducted and that I won’t be missing but will be found doing my work. When July 24, 2015 came, I welcomed the order from Central to make another video together with the brethren from the Locale with all of us saying,” All of us with responsibilities and all the brethren of the Locale of San Roque, Ecclesiastical District of Leyte East are proclaiming that we are fervently following doctrines and are submitting to obedience so that we will be saved.” Then we would greet Happy 101^st Anniversary to the Iglesia ni Cristo. 

Upon arrival at the San Roque Locale, I found the brethren already gathered by the Head Deacon based on the order of the District and there was the Video man. It was not a day for Worship Service at San Roque, but the video would show that the service was just over. At that moment, I decided not to make the [second] video because, first I had already made one last July 21, 2015 as proof that I was not abducted. Second, the brethren already knew on July 23, 2015 about the call from Ka Tenny and Ka Angel, and because of that, they will be asking questions like what is happening with the church.

The following day, July 24, 2015, came the reading of the Circular pertaining to the family of Ka Erdy. I have read that Circular concerning the expulsion in the Worship Service at Tolosa Extension, but I felt so hurt that it has come to this. I could not anymore take it that after reading about the expulsion of the family, they would order me to proclaim fervent obedience and submission to the Administration – and with that I had to involve even the brethren!” (See post by Jorge. (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/711261/doj-secures-3-expelled-iglesia-ni-cristo-members).

4) Threatening the lives of those who leave their religion or dis-agree with them.

These are lines from a report titled, “Iglesia ni Cristo expels members who joined protest in US (Coconuts Manila, 8/06/2015) –

According to another expelled INC member who was at the rally, fears of retaliation from the church against protesters were heightened a week later after gunshots were fired at his home. (http://manila.coconuts.co/2015/08/07/iglesia-ni-cristo-expels-members-who-joined-protest-us).

The members clearly know about killing being a part of the culture of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

Recently, Joy Yuson, one of the expelled ministers said in the vernacular, “We have to be careful. If they find us on the way, they will kill us. They may run over us, hold us up, kill or trace our steps to home.” (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/08/06/15/witnesses-vs-inc-placed-under-witness-protection-program).

According to ABS-CBN News, expelled INC Minister Joy Yuson had allegedly received information that the INC has a private army of 100 people that can strike any time. His companions also had other information –

“[Roel] Rosal, who used to work for the New Bilibid Prisons, told De Lima that INC can release inmates from prison, while [Lito] Fruto said an assistant state prosecutor from the justice department was involved in the arrest of one of the ‘missing’ INC ministers, Lowell Menorca, as well as in framing him up for a charge of rape.”

Yuson, Fruto, and Rosal are former members of INC who were expelled from the church after expressing support to the family of the late executive minister Eraño Manalo. (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/08/06/15/witnesses-vs-inc-placed-under-witness-protection-program).

These reports need verification, and if true, should be addressed by proper government authorities.

1. No Mercy

A church is supposed to be the very first example in showing how character is supposed to be developed in a vibrant community. It may be none of people’s business questioning how a son can tolerate not talking to a mother for five years. But it has become public that the mother of Eduardo Manalo, Executive Minister of the INC, had wanted to talk to her son. Wasn’t she claiming her life was in danger together with the others? She was expelled from the organization in a show of force with the INC leadership claiming Ka Tenny and the rest of the family were creating division in the church. Farley de Castro, one of those expelled ministers claimed the widow of Eraño Manalo is more than 80 years old and is ill.

The Public is Watching: One-Sided Media

The Daily Tribune was decidedly one-sided. It did not mention earlier reports that De Lima had wanted the erring NBI Anti-Organized Transnational Crime Division chief Manuel Eduarte who said that the case is now considered closed to be sanctioned.

The Daily Tribune is obviously one of creating news instead of being a news courier. A good story would present both sides.

There is a tendency now for journalists to create news. And that is completely wrong. Journalists have a responsibility to report the news and comment upon the news. But they don’t have the right to create news. (Oscar R. Landicho, “Ethics in Journalism,” Booklore Publishing Corporation, Mla: 2002).

Indeed, what our country needs are good and honest journalists who can tell us what our people need or what is wrong with some government officials including judges and justices.

A look into a description of this paper says –

The Daily Tribune is a daily English-language broadsheet publication in the Philippines. Its office is in the 1st Floor of the Bel-Air Apartments along Roxas Boulevard, Manila. Its editor-in-chief is Ninez Cacho-Olivares. The Tribune is known for being critical of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her successor, Benigno S. Aquino III; conversely, it is often cited as supporting former President Joseph Estrada (now Mayor of Manila) and Vice President Jejomar Binay. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Tribune).

As a politician who has declared running for President as early as 2010, Binay, in his act of throwing down the gauntlet for the Iglesia ni Cristo is suspect. First, the INC’s practice of coercive bloc voting is a magnet for many politicians to woe the INC’s favor, ignoring the negative effect on the voters.

Second, the INC has been embroiled in controversy and has occupied the news spots in the recent months. But The Daily Tribune shows no indication of knowing anything before hand, as their reports reflected nothing of the other side.

What’s with a news outfit that cannot be objective? A journalist can do his job if his hands are free of bribes. Lest we be seen as imputing anything, there are many things aside from money that can corrupt a journalist: gadgets, electrical appliances, cars, free gasoline, gift vouchers in some department stores, free trips, free meals and drinks. Take that from a seasoned journalist like Oscar Landicho.

Here’s an excerpt from Landicho’s (2002) chapter on Envelopmental Journalism –

Only in the Philippines is ‘envelopmental journalism’ practiced with notoriety and frequency. Envelopmental journalism is not only illegal but also unethical. People who promote envelopmental journalism are peddlers of corruption, dishonesty, and immorality. Some journalists are … in the payroll of some politicians and businessmen.

The report on extensive lecture of Vice President Binay on DOJ Secretary De Lima is not balanced sans just one-liner saying Manuel Eduarte was not involved in the project of ascertaining abduction of INC ministers, or that De Lima was surprised on Eduarte’s “Case Closed” pronouncement. Instead, Binay was marking that Eduarte is a lawyer – as if being lawyer is equivalent to being honest and correct.

What citizens can do for now are the following: 1) Watch for wayward media and expose them; and 2) Watch the moves of politicians and expose them.

The Public is Watching: Politician’s Pressure

An evaluation of Binay’s motherland statements manifests an over-representation of this politician in the absence of a report on De Lima’s stance. He was clearly standing for Manuel Eduarte – someone not involved with the case – or even for the INC. This group is widely known to be influential with a reputation of actively lobbying to be able to place their own people in sensitive positions of the government.

From The Daily Tribune

“By your actuations, you are promoting the image of disunity, discord and even corruption in the INC to its clear prejudice and detriment,” Binay said.

“As public officials, it is our duty to respect the internal affairs and concerns of the INC and allow them, without the unwarranted interference from government, to conduct their own business in accordance with their religious beliefs. No less than our Constitution guarantees this inviolable separation of church and state,” he added.

“For the sake of upholding our Constitution, as well as protecting the integrity and good name of the INC as a religious community, I urge you to refrain from uttering baseless, if not reckless and irresponsible, statements that would tend to harm the religious institution of the INC,” Binay said. (http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/binay-asks-de-lima-to-stop-reckless-statements-vs-inc)

Binay might not know it but it is the very ministers of the INC running for their lives who had requested for government intervention. Isaias Samson Jr. at a press conference held in July 23, said that government intervention in the crisis would help resolve the issue. Samson is one of those expelled INC ministers. (Tetch Torres-Tupas, “INC crisis: Suspended minister urges gov’t intervention”Inquirer.net. 7/23/2015).

Samson claimed that the INC was after him because of he had opposed INC general auditor Glicerio Santos Jr. According to reports, he was also accused of being the man behind the blog of Antonio Ebangelista, who has released critical articles against the group. (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/707346/minister-detained-by-armed-guards-escapes-corrupt-inc-practices-bared).

The 1987 Constitution of The Republic of the Philippines in Article III Bill of Rights is enough cover for those running for their lives from the powerful.

Consider this: Binay, a candidate for President in 2016, pitches for a religion that is publicly known as influential, but he does not feel for those individuals in it being abducted and reporting fear for their very lives.

The fact is that the INC does not need protection because it is very powerful – unlike individuals in them being threatened after exposing anomalies in their organization.

The right to life, liberty and the protection of the laws is guaranteed by the constitution. It is the right of citizens to be protected and secure in their persons.

The least that Vice President Binay could have done is not to contribute to the INC cover-up – unless he is a willing tool and has become part of these familiar patterns. Politicians are well-entrenched in these practices of the INC having become stooges or willing to become one.

A bird of the same feather knows its kind. It is time for everyone to choose whom to side with: the good or the evil.

Questions on the History of the Rosary

By Jane Abao

Manila, Philippines (March 28, 2015) – Without our knowing it, billions have been fooled by just a bead counter being linked to salvation if used as a form of prayer. How did this come about? How could this be possible with our supposed knowledge from the universities? Many have figured into this lie: books, dreamers, popes and a bead counter. The Bible claims there is such a thing as minds being blinded by the god of this world. That is the only explanation.

The Secret of the Rosary is about the Rosary written by a French priest in the 17th Century. The translation of this Catholic saint’s book in English (The Secret of the Rosary, Tan Books & Publisher, 1976) bears the imprimatur of Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Booklyn.

Louis De Montfort, the author and a Catholic saint later, clearly ascribes power to the rosary, a created thing, for as blared by him and then by his proponents it can mean salvation of one’s soul if instructions are followed. At the same time, it can be calamitous if the rosary is not respected –

The advice to priests about using the Rosary to save sinners directly relates to the advice given to sinners on how to use the Rosary for salvation. This theme continues throughout the book, each Rose gently leading to another, in the process gradually revealing various “secrets” on how to approach the Rosary, how to recite and how to use it for optimal spiritual benefits. (http://en.wikipedia.org).

HISTORY OF THE ROSARY

Some sources expose the sham or falseness of this Rosary affair. The exact origin of the Rosary is subject to debate among scholars according to Herbert Thurston and Andrew Shipman (“The Rosary.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912).

Meanwhile, John D. Miller traces the repetitious feature of the rosary that involves praying with beads to have come from the practice of monks praying 150 psalms daily. Since many of the laity and monastics could not read, 150 repetitions of the Our Father (Pater noster in Latin) took the place of Psalms. (Beads and Prayers: The Rosary in History and Devotion, 2002, pp. 7-15). A cord with knots was used to keep count as discussed by Thurston and Shipman. It appears now that the knots are only necessary to facilitate remembering how many repetitions were made.

Where did the Rosary come from and what was the objective?

John D. Miller cites tradition as saying the rosary was given to a Saint Dominic in an apparition by the Virgin Mary in the year 1214 in the church of Prouille  (Beads and Prayers: The Rosary in History and Devotion, 2002). This apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary (Catherine Beebe, Dominic and the Rosary). Subsequently, the practice of praying with beads or knots for counting became institutionalized in the Roman Catholic Church. However, the writings of Thurston and Shipman in The Catholic Encyclopedia question the claim of Alanus linking the rosary to Dominic primarily because of their separation in age by more than two centuries.

In the 15th century Alunus de Rupe (aka Alain de la Roche or Saint Alan of the Rock), who was a learned Dominican priest and theologian, is said to have received a vision from Jesus about the urgency of reinstating the rosary as a form of prayer. Blessed Alanus de Rupe also received the Blessed Mother’s “15 Promises.” Before his death on Sept. 8, 1475 he reinstituted the rosary in many countries and established many rosary confraternities.

Despite the popularity of Blessed Alanus’s story about the origins of the rosary, there has never been found any historical evidence positively linking St. Dominic to the rosary. The story of St. Dominic’s devotion to the rosary and supposed apparition of Our Lady of the Rosary does not appear in any documents of the Church or Dominican Order prior to the writings of Blessed Alanus. Dominic and Blessed Alanus are separated by 250 years (http://en.wikipedia.org).

From these accounts, it is therefore safe to say it was this Alanus who perpetuated the supposed power of the Rosary – effectively but erroneously assigning authority of God to Mary, shifting the focus of needing to do good to repeating empty words with these beads. Take a look into these supposed promises that Alanus claimed he received from Jesus in a vision. (http://www.olrm.org.au). An Imprimatur (which simply means “let it be printed”) was granted to the Fifteen Mysteries by Cardinal Patrick J. Hayes, the then Archbishop of New York.

Fifteen Promises of Mary (Referred to as “Fifteen Mysteries” by Archbishop Hayes)

• 1) Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary, shall receive signal graces.
• 2) I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.
• 3) The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
• 4) It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the heart of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
• 5) The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary shall not perish.
• 6) Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
• 7) Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
• 8) Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
• 9) I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
• 10) The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
• 11) You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.
• 12) All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
• 13) I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
• 14) All who recite the rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
• 15) Devotion of my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

QUESTIONS: In this vision that Alanus, a Dominican priest and theologian, is said to have “received from Jesus about the urgency of reinstating the rosary as a form of prayer” (Miller, 2002), isn’t this presenting a hierarchy of power that Mary – a human being – is being endorsed by Jesus (Son of God), and therefore a god, to be venerated? If so, isn’t Jesus therefore being made to endorse idolatry? How does Alanus account for the fact that between Dominic and him, there is an expanse of 250 years and nothing is said in the records of the Church or Dominican records before him about Dominic being visited by Mary and giving a rosary? Since Alanus claimed to have received the 15 promises of the Rosary, why did it take Jesus and not Mary to give those to him?

In sum, we trace now this rosary thing from Dominican Priest Alanus de Rupe, the dreamer, to Cardinal Patrick J. Hayes, the imprimatur- giver that rosary-praying, together with its woven lies unnecessarily involving Mary becomes instituted in the Roman Catholic Church without nary a question from its believers. Power is maliciously assigned to a mere bead counter, and people are fooled while unnecessarily courting the wrath of God for this idolatry. Every line in the supposed 15 promises of the rosary mentions the word “rosary” including #4 where the pronoun, “it” refers to the rosary. How did this happen if not for the folly of fools? How could salvation be pegged on a bead counter with the supposed prayer man reduced to an acrobat and bowing to idols?

The spread of the Rosary is attributed to the preaching of St. Dominic according to the Catholic Encylopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913) and as written by William Saunders, “History of the Rosary,” Eternal Word Television Network.

For centuries, the Rosary has been at the heart of the Dominican Order. It was Pope Pius XI who said, “The Rosary of Mary is the principle and foundation on which the very Order of Saint Dominic rests for making perfect the life of its members and obtaining the salvation of others.” This was expressed by Robert Feeney in “St. Dominic and the Rosary,” Catholic.net (2008). Dominicans then have been instrumental in spreading the rosary and emphasizing the Catholic belief in the power of the Rosary.(History of Dominicans. 2014. Dominican Shrine of St. Jude, New Priory Press).

But who is this Dominic? This Catholic saint is also known as Dominic of Osma and Dominic of Caleruega, often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán (1170 – August 6, 1221). He was a Spanish priest and founder of the Dominican Order (http://en.wikipedia.org).

Jean Guiraud, in his book, “Saint Dominic” (1909, London: Duckworth, 216pp), gives the most comprehensive account about Dominic (https://archive.org/stream/saintdominic00guirrich/saintdominic00guirrich_djvu.txt). On page 11 dealing with the topic, Childhood and Youth, Guiraud says the biographers of Dominic have been able to obtain little data for this period. Then on the subject of Rosary, he hedges somewhat because of “lack of scientific certainties.

Alain de la Roche and, following upon him, Jean de Rechac and Baillet… by dint of collecting together worthless legends, have constructed a fabulous life of St Dominic. According to these writers, those nine years had been devoted by him to missions; he had travelled over several provinces of Spain, preaching against Saracens and heretics, and had even, not far from St James of Compostella, fallen into the hands of pirates. Borne away by sea into captivity he had stilled the violence of a tempest; and by virtue of the Rosary, of which he had just received the revelation, had made converts of the crew. Restored to liberty, he had carried his wanderings further still, had preached devotion to the Blessed Virgin through the Rosary.

Take note now of the author’s footnote about omitting the rosary origin –

We purposely omit in this biography any account of the origin of the Rosary or of any efforts of the saint to further this devotion. It is a question more and more contested, since the serious doubts thrown out during the last century by the Bollandists {cf. Acta Sanctorum, 4th August); while a biography of the present nature should deal only with scientific certainties.

Did Dominic really receive a rosary from the Virgin Mary? And who are Bollandists? As defined Bollandists are “an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity.” Bollandists, therefore, are a good help to research because they evaluate claims.

Back to “Saint Dominic” by Jean Guiraud, Page 12 reflects –

Sustained by divine grace he had, in the course of these apostolic journeys, made numerous important conversions…. An examination, however superficial, of these stories, suffices to prove their mythical character, teeming as they do with anachronisms and improbabilities…. Far from travelling over Christendom and preaching the Rosary to the wondering peoples of Spain and Brittany, St Dominic, during these nine years, says Jordan [of Saxony] rarely went beyond the precincts of his monastery.

What did Dominic receive? This account also tells about contests of Catholic religious orders and how lying is used to institutionalize beliefs yet false.

… In their natural desire to make their own Orders participate in the glory of St Dominic, certain monastic writers have made the saint sojourn in convents belonging to them and even make his religious profession there. According to Denys the Carthusian, St Dominic, on his way to Citeaux, visited the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse, in order there to become a monk; but the prior, filled with a spirit of prophecy, refused to profess him, saying: “Go, you are reserved for mightier things,” and giving him the mission of preaching against the Albigenses.

According to other writers, it was St Bernard’s habit that was received by St Dominic, at the same time as his bishop…. (Giraud, 1909).

Fighting with the Albigenses clearly started this rosary thing. It was a fight of faith, but a fight that blinded the mind. From faith in God, faith was shunted to faith on a piece of counter. It appears the rosary-adherents had won over the non-rosary people in the 20-year war, but it does not necessarily mean they are in the truth.

Records claim Albigenses or Albigensians are actually the medieval Christian sect of the Cathars. According to history, these people created a reform movement within the churches of Dalmatia and Bulgaria calling for a return to “the Christian message of perfection, poverty and preaching.” They became known as the Albigensians because there were many adherents in the City of Albi and the surrounding area. Records show Pope Innocent III initiated the Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), a 20-year military campaign to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, south of France. These are how they were different: they criticised the beliefs of the rosary people –

The Cathar understanding of God was entirely disincarnate: they viewed God as a being or principle of pure spirit and completely unsullied by the taint of matter. He was the God of love, order and peace. The goal of a Cathar was to become perfect.

Cathar missionaries would point out examples of clerical immorality and would contrast that behaviour with the uprightness of their own actions. They paid special attention to grievances the people of the south held against the French kings, and promoted a local sense of nationalism and independence. Thus, the religious movement became political. Both church and state were deeply concerned at the spread of Cathar teachings (http://en.wikipedia.org).

Accounts cite Dominic of Osma often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán as an inquisitor – one insisting his Roman Catholic religion on others otherwise they get burned! Jean Guiraud on the topic of Saint Dominic and the Albingenses (p.37) quoting Bernard Guidonis (Catalogus Romanorum Pontificuni. Duchesne, Hist. Franc, vol. v. p. 768) writes –

The Dominican historian Malvenda, so late as the seventeenth century, did not hesitate to claim for the founder of his Order the glory of having established the Inquisition and delivered up heretics.

Guiraud calls Dominic “the precursor of Torquemada.” The dictionary points to Tor·que·ma·da  (tôr′kə-mä′də, tôr′kĕ-mä′thä) as Tomás de Torquemada (1420-1498), a Spanish Dominican friar who headed the Spanish Inquisition (1483-1498). “Under his authority thousands of people, many of them descendants of Jewish or Muslim converts to Christianity, were tortured and executed for apostasy and heresy.” That’s what the dictionary says of Torquemada – and supposedly Dominic came before him, but he was like the later in all counts.

Guiraud quotes from Lacordaire (Vie de Saint Dominique, p. 117) and the Bollandists {Acta SS., 4th August) and by Echard {Script, Ord. Prcedic). As an inquisitor, Dominic, the representative of the Holy See is thus –

Certain heretics having been taken and convicted in the country of Toulouse, were delivered over to the secular court, because they refused to return to the faith, and were condemned to be burnt. Dominic, looking upon one of them with a heart initiated into the secrets of God, said to the officers of the court: “Set this one apart, and take heed not to burn him.” Then turning with great gentleness towards the heretic, “I know, my son,” he said to him, that you need time, but that in the end you will become good and holy.”

Comparing with all these documents the canon of the Council of Verona, renewed in 1208 by the Council of Avignon, which orders that apostates who, after being convicted of heresy by their bishops or their representatives, should obstinately persist in their errors, should be delivered over to the secular arm, it would seem that it must be concluded that, by virtue of the delegated authority of the Cistercian monks, St Dominic was to convict the heretics; and that, in convicting them, he delivered them up, indirectly but surely, to execution….

Inquisitor or not, Dominic is clearly unwittingly connected with the rosary thing just as Mary is unnecessarily involved in it. Montfort’s account in Secret of the Rosary mentions Dominic as the receiver and Mary the giver, but he does more by backing up the story of Alanus and his 15 Promises (http://www.rosary-center.org/secret.htm) as he writes –

[The Rosary] was given to the Church by Saint Dominic who had received it from the Blessed Virgin as a powerful means of converting the Albigensians and other sinners.

I will tell you the story of how he received it, which is found in the very well known book “De Dignitate Psalterii” by Blessed Alan de la Roche [1]. Saint Dominic, seeing that the gravity of people’s sins was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew into a forest near Toulouse where he prayed unceasingly for three days and three nights. During this time he did nothing but weep and do harsh penances in order to appease the anger of Almighty God. He used his discipline so much that his body was lacerated, and finally he fell into a coma.

At this point Our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by three angels, and she said: “Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?”

“Oh, my Lady,” answered Saint Dominic, “you know far better than I do because next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation.”

Then Our Lady replied: “I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.”

And so goes that rosary thing with Mary used as authority. More lies are written in the “Secret of the Rosary” mentioning how Alanus also received three important “revelations.” But he is merely quoting Alanus. Consider that these are seriously false, and they are more of threats. Catholic Saint Montfort quotes this other Catholic saint on supposed three revelations –

The first, that if people fail to say the Hail Mary (the Angelic Salutation which has saved the world) out of carelessness, or because they hate it, this is a sign that they will probably and indeed shortly be condemned to eternal punishment.

The second truth is that those who love this divine salutation bear the very special stamp of predestination.

The third is that those to whom God has given the signal of grace of loving Our Lady and of serving her out of love must take very great care to continue to love and serve her until the time when she shall have had them place in heaven by her divine Son in the degree of glory which they have earned. (Blessed Alan, chapter XI, paragraph 2).

In other words, people are told to believe in the power of the Rosary or they are damned! What a blatant lie: assigning the power of God to some people’s invention and then hitch Mary to it!

And so it is that lies were knitted together to make up a fabric of deception. Through it, people have been drugged into idolising another god in the form of Mary, the supposed Mother of God. But the Bible says nothing about Mary needing to be worshipped; it says nothing about her appearing again and again in visions. Nor is she named Mother of God (See http://www.ControversyExtraordinary.com). Mary while alive was very humble. Would she now rise from the dead and claim some power, promise salvation through a mere bead of repeated incantations?

In sum, here’s this simple cord used as a counter. It has knots to allow completing repeated prayers. But this requires worshipping Mary, a human being like we are. This bead counter is said to have been given to a Dominican priest but whose life story does not include anything about this rosary thing. So a book (Montfort’s “Secret of the Rosary”) is written and advances further that the roses story includes power. This time another character named Alanus is said to have received the Blessed Mother’s “15 Promises” if the rosary is used frequently.

And how did Alanus come to know about these promises? Records point out that there are 250 years gap between Alanus and Dominic. With the story of Alanus, the plot gets thicker and the belief on the Rosary as source of salvation gets more adhesive. To make it more binding, Cardinal Patrick J. Hayes, the Archbishop of New York that time orders the printing of those 15 so-called mysteries, and anyone is said to be free to believe them or not. Finally, Pope Pius XI declares that praying the Rosary is how salvation is obtained.

Such is the sad story about roses woven with lies and buttered with books of fools and supposed saints to promise tricky salvation to poor people – at the expense of Mary who is lying quietly in her grave. Many centuries have passed with such abuse on Mary where she has nothing to do with it. Meanwhile, popes exploit the situation to hide their ignorance of the Bible while people believe in them.

What about salvation that this roses story has stolen?

More yet, who can answer for these lies?

 

Court Acquits ADD “Eternal Life” Discussants from Libel Charge

By Jane Abao

Manila, Philippines (3/16//2015) – This court acquittal marks another victory for MCGI on the lot of libel cases filed by the Iglesia ni Cristo against the former’s ministers. A topic on “Eternal Life” led two panelists of the Ang Dating Daan TV program discussing news items mentioning Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members as killers. Eternal life would not accommodate such people, they concluded.

Joselito Mallari and Wilfredo Santiago were commenting on three news items published in three local newspapers in their TV program. As a result the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) represented by Bienvenido C. Santiago filed charges against them on March 31, 2004 for the crime of libel. The court, however, acquitted these Ang Dating Daan TV panelists recently.

In a 13-page decision penned by Presiding Judge Manuel B. Sta. Cruz, Jr. of the Regional Trial Court, NCJR, Branch 226 for Criminal Case No. QO4-126059, Joselito “Josel” Mallari and Wilfredo “Willy” Santiago are acquitted of the crime of Libel for failure of the prosecution to prove all the elements of the crime charged, thus failing to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

To be able to successfully prosecute the crime of Libel, the court said the complainant must prove the existence of the following elements:

• The allegation of a discreditable act or condition concerning another;
• Publication of the charge;
• Identity of the person defamed; and
• Existence of malice.

In part, the court said –

The alleged libelous remarks were made by the accused as panelists in the TV program “Ang Dating Daan.” This court notes the remarks were made in the context of explaining the teachings of their religion on the popular topic of “eternal life.” Although it may be argued that some of the members of the Iglesia ni Cristo were offended by the remarks, especially when the news clippings of the murders allegedly committed by individual members of the INC members were shown on the screen, this court rules that this alone does not make the remarks of the accused actionable by itself.

The court further said –

As with all other members of the various religious faith, an individual member of the INC has a reputation that is personal, separate and distinct in the community and it is highly unlikely that one’s personal reputation will be affected by what is seen and heard or published about the other INC members. It is also improbable that the INC community’s reputation, as a whole, will be blemished by these isolated acts imputed to some of its members…

The judgment quoted the Supreme Court stressing in MVRS Publications, Inc. vs. Islamic Da’wah Council of the Philippines that “words which are merely insulting are not actionable as libel or slander per se, and mere words of general abuse, however opprobrious, ill-natured, or vexatious, whether written or spoken, do not constitute a basis for an action for defamation in the absence of an allegation for special damages.”

Ang Dating Daan (The Old Path) is the longest running religious program in the country hosted by Bro. Eli Soriano, the Presiding Minister to the Members Church of God, International (MCGI). It has won several local and international awards. At the time of the filing of the case, ADD and the Iglesia ni Cristo were having a running debate centered on their teachings wherein each side tries to defend their teachings. The remarks being contested in this case were allegedly made by the accused on or about April 22, 2003 during the program of Ang Dating Daan at SBN21.

The court said the news items the panelists discussed were: a) People’s Journal, “INC minister shoots farmer dead,” dated July 24, 1996; b) People’s Tonight, “3 Iglesia-Vigilantes nabbed for beheading, roasting 2 men,” and c) Abante, “Ministro Namaril.”

The remarks include, as translated in English, “Do you know of churches that kill? Do they have eternal life?”

“Aha, you see that? He already killed him yet roasted him! Ministro Namaril (Minister Killed Someone). Whatever church that is, those inflicted with that kind of malady, cannot be granted with eternal life. As long as you are a murderer …. my countrymen, do not believe that a murderer is of God and has eternal life.”

The complaint accused these panelists of “intending to convey malicious and offensive insinuations and imputations that are destructive and tends to destroy the name and reputation of the Iglesia ni Cristo with no good justifiable motive but solely for the purposes of maligning, besmirching the name, honor, character and reputation of said offended party and to expose them as in fact they were exposed to public hatred and ridicule to their damage and prejudice.”

MCGI Minister Mallari, one of the accused, is now based outside the country. Defense witness Emilio T. Magdaraog then issued a judicial affidavit. He said the purpose of airing Ang Dating Daan and its related programs like Itanong mo kay Soriano (Ask Soriano, the Bible will Answer) is to spread the word of God according to what is written in the Bible and to have people lead a new life. As translated, he added, “This includes exposing and castigating religions that do evil but introduce themselves as they alone are of God and it is they alone that will be saved.”

Magdaraog is also a Minister for MCGI. Speaking for Mallari, he said in his judicial affidavit that Mallari was speaking in general terms. He was referring to “any religion that agrees and gives consent to killing their members but declares to the public that they alone are the ones who are of God and they alone are the only ones to be saved.” Speaking still in the vernacular, Magdaraog said, “It is clear that the Bible teaches that there is no salvation for killers or murderers. As ministers we are taught to speak the truth, no matter if some will be happy or angry at us.”

This is not the first time libel cases were filed by Bienvenido Santiago as private complainant or representative of the Iglesia ni Cristo against panelists of Ang Dating Daan TV. Fortunately, the courts have acquitted the accused in several libel cases in the years ahead for lack of evidence.

Meanwhile, Wilfredo Santiago, who was Bro. Eli’s Bible Reader, was separated from MCGI in 2009 (five years after the filing of this case) after a frustrated ambition to become minister. Willy had put up his own church group trying to mimic doctrines he learned while at MCGI and infusing them with his own understanding. Failing to muster even a hundred members, he still called his group “worldwide” in an effort to mimic MCGI and be another “Bro. Eli.” Unfortunately for him, those he had taken away have been sending feelers for wanting to return to MCGI.

In this Libel case, filed in 2004 and finally judged this February 15, 2015, Willy was represented by a Public Affairs Office (PAO) lawyer. His co-accused, Mallari, had another counsel representing him.