The Philippine Online Chronicles

Church groups belonging to the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) filed a legal suit against former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the extra-judicial killings of church people and human rights violations during the previous administration.

The case filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, according to the UCCP, is part of their continuing effort to seek justice and end the culture of impunity in the country.

The plaintiffs said in their complaint that while Arroyo was President and of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the military, numerous church pastors and leaders were either liquidated, harassed, unlawfully, detained or tortured with impunity, allegedly by military agents and operatives.

Highlighted cases include those of Rev. Edison Lapuz, Conference Minister of the UCCP Northeastern Leyte at the time he was killed on May 12, 2005, Rev. Raul Domingo, Deputy Conference Minister of Palawan Associate Conference at the time he was killed on August 20, 2005. Other victims of extra-judicial killings were Joel Baclao, Pastor Andy Pawican and Noel “Noli” Capulong. They were killed in their respective provinces by supposed military operatives from 2004 to 2007.

Pastor Berlin Guerrero was illegally abducted, detained and tortured by the military on May 27, 2007. He was detained for 16 months in Laguna.

Out of over a thousand cases of human rights violations under Arroyo's term, UCCP documented 18 persons killed extra-judicially, 1 person disappeared and believed killed, 3 persons ambushed and wounded, and at least 4 persons abducted, illegally detained and tortured from their ranks.

The church group is asking Arroyo, now a district representative of Pampanga, to pay at least 5 million pesos (USD114,600) for human-rights abuses allegedly committed against leaders and members of the group during her presidency.

The plaintiffs include UCCP General Secretary Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza and families of the victims. They said the victims were killed or abused under the "Oplan Bantay Laya" counterinsurgency program during the Arroyo administration, Inquirer.net posted.

Marigza said in the complaint, “not only has Arroyo not been prosecuted for the staggering number of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations under her command, neither has any of the actual military perpetrators been brought to justice.”

The complaint was supported by most Christian churches. In a statement, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) said UCCP’s move is a “leap of faith much more so in a system that shows partiality to those in position of wealth and power.

“The NCCP lauds the recourse of the UCCP to seek legal redress in the pursuit of justice for her pastors and church workers who have been victims of extrajudicial killings, warrantless arrests, illegal detention and other forms of human rights violations,” NCCP general secretary Rev. Rex Reyes, Jr. said.

“Something indeed is terribly wrong when pastors and church workers are killed, arrested and detained or go missing while they are teaching people to know, defend and fight for their rights.”

“The cry of our sisters and brothers unjustly vexed call on us today to stand firm and persist in demanding justice,” Reyes said.

The NCCP is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia, is a coalition of Protestant and non-Roman Catholic denominations and service-oriented organizations in the country.

Among its members are the Apostolic Catholic Church, Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, Lutheran Church in the Philippines, United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church in the Philippines and Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

CBCP backs case

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed support to the case. Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, chair of the public affairs committee of the CBCP, said in a report: “I am in favor of the move to look for truth and justice.”

Arroyo's camp said they have yet to receive a copy of the complaint.