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Will we ever get to the bottom of this?
“Four Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) ministers — who are based in the INC headquarters in Diliman, Quezon City — denied that allegations that they were kidnapped and tortured allegedly on orders of top leaders of the sect,” reports Nancy C. Carvajal in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The ministers were identified as Arnel A. Tumanan, Juliusar “Jojo” R. Nemis, Nolan Quiroz Olarte, and Joven Sepillo Sr., who was represented by his son Joven D. Sepillo Jr. in the interview.
The report noted: “The misters said that they decided to come forward to belie reports that they had been abducted. The denial came amid reports that 11 INC ministers had been abducted, as the expulsion of the mother and siblings of INC head Eduardo Manalo, and allegations of massive corruption in the sect, abuse of power by some leaders and high living of some ministers came to light.”
Tumanan, an instructor at the Evangelical College of the INC, related that he “was at the Balintawak chapel when he was shown his picture on the Internet as among those supposedly taken by armed men for opposing INC orders.” He said, “Whoever is behind these lies might harm us so they could just prove their lies.”
For his part, Olarte, a minister assigned to the INC headquarters, said “one of his children, who watched the news, had told him that his name was among those ministers reported missing.” Olarte stated, “I strongly deny the statement that I was abducted or that I was taken on someone’s orders.” He added that he was never assigned to Cebu province and had not set foot in the city where he was supposed to have been abducted.
In a sworn statement, Sepillo said his father, a minister assigned to San Roque, Tacloban City, was well and had not been abducted. He explained, “My father is puzzled why his name was included in the list among the ministers missing when he was in his post working.”
For his party, Nemis “expressed concern about his and the others’ safety as a result of the false information that they had been abducted.”
The ministers said a former INC minister named Eliodor “Joy” Yuson, mentioned their names in a radio interview as among those who had been abducted.
INC staff have identified Yuson as “a classmate and good friend of Felix Nathaniel ‘Angel’ Manalo.”
It may be recalled that Angel, his mother Cristina “Tenny” Villanueva Manalo, brother Marco Eraño Villanueva Manalo, and sister Lolita “Lottie” Manalo Hemedez were expelled from the INC to quell dissent in the organization.
Photo: News clip
