Eli Soriano * After being excommunicated from his church, the Iglesia ng Dios Kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan, Eli Soriano formed his own in 1997 and called it Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Saligan ng Katotohanan. Soriano claimed that Suhay was a wrong name for the church. He was sued for having a name too closely resembling his former church, necessitating a name change to Mga Kaanib sa Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Saligan ng Katotohanan sa Bansang Pilipinas, Inc.. By 1993, his church was again renamed to Bayan ng Katotohanan. In 2003, he lost his court battle which forced him again to change the church's name to Iglesia Ni YHWH at ni YHWSA HMSYH (Church of YHWH and YHWSA HMSYH). By 2004, they again changed their name to Members Church of God International[1].
* The Department of Justice of the Philippines recommended the filing of libel cases against Eliseo Soriano and 15 of this associates for allegedly defaming the Iglesia ni Cristo and its ministers. [10]
* Muslim leaders from Metro Manila filed a one billion peso libel suit against Eliseo Soriano before the Manila Prosecutor's Office for allegedly, in a video, uttering unsavory remarks and criticism against Islam and Muslims.[11]
* In November 2005 Eliseo Soriano was placed on the Philippines Bureau of Immigration watchlist for charges of rape [12] filed by Daniel Veridiano, a former Communications and IT department head of Ang Dating Daan. Macabebe Regional Trial Court Judge Manuel Siyangco issued the warrant of arrest. On May 3, 2006, in a 5-page resolution, Pampanga acting provincial prosecutor Jaime Umpa recommended the filing of rape case against Ang Dating Daan leader Eliseo Soriano and allowed him to post a P400,000 bail bond (P200,000 for each count).[13]
* In November 2006, an arrest warrant against Eliseo Soriano was issued by Judge Lucina Dayaon, Macabebe, RTC Branch 54. Eliseo Soriano on June 21, 2008, posted P 240,000 bail for an additional 2 counts of rape, before Judge Silvino Pampilo, Jr., Manila Regional Trial, after surrendering to Police Station 10 jailer Jun Gumaruin, Pandacan, Manila to avoid being apprehended. The indictment or criminal "information" states that: "Soriano took advantage of his moral ascendancy and/or influence to direct his subordinate to come into his room, massage him and have anal intercourse, around 1:30 p.m. of May 17, 2000. The sexual acts were done against the will and consent, and to the damage and prejudice of the complainant, who was also religious."
* In 2007, the Iglesia ni Cristo sued Soriano for libel after Soriano accused them of publishing explicit comic books depicting Soriano having homosexual ***. Soriano filed multiple petition to stop the lawsuit but to no avail[14].
* On February 22, 2008, Apalit Municipal officials led by Mayor Oscar Tetangco Jr. led the closure of at least four buildings inside the MCGI compound in Barangay Sampaloc, Apalit, Pampanga. The buildings include a chapel, museum and two residential houses, which were constructed without building permits, municipal officials said. Previously, the Apalit Municipal council passed Resolution No. 15 requesting the Apalit mayor to enforce pertinent national and local status. The resolution further stated that, through reports, that the MCGI was violating these statutes.[15]
Aside from the buildings constructed without permits, the MCGI also failed to pay real property taxes for the years 2006 and 2007. A letter was sent to Eliseo Soriano stating that under the current law, the municipality had the power to sell the properties to pay the taxes. MCGI representatives asked for the time to settle the issues but these fell on deaf ears.[16]
These recent issues were criticized by Daniel Razon, the Vice-Presiding Minister of MCGI, on his daily morning TV show "Good Morning Kuya" aired over UNTV 37. He charged that the decisions of the Municipal Government were influenced by outside influences and that they were against the ADD(MCGI). This prompted the Apalit Municipal Government to declare Razon a "persona non grata". The Municipal Council approved recently Resolution 28 series of 2008 declaring Razon as undesirable person in the town. The resolution further state that "Razon's pronouncement in the said TV program has misinformed and misled the public and is meant to malign the wisdom of its officials and put them in a bad light".[17]
This followed a series of lawsuits directed at the church from former members, as well as the church's television programs being taken off the air in 2005.
* In June 2008, Eliseo Soriano and two others where charged with falsification of a public document at the Manila City Prosecutor's Office for allegedly faking a certificate of detention in order to post bail for his rape charges. The presiding minister, Eliseo Soriano, having been indicted for raping a male subordinate, was sued for violation of Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines. Soriano is still a fugitive at large and his whereabouts are unknown[18].
Source:
Members Church of God International - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Originally Posted by botslob
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