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UCCP Press Statement
May 28, 2007,
Quezon City, Philippines
Reference: Bishop Eliezer M. Pascua
General Secretary
Tel. 924-0219
The United Church of Christ in the Philippines condemns in strongest terms
the latest abduction of one of its pastors, Pastor Berlin V. Guerrero who
was taken at gunpoint yesterday at 5:45 pm Sunday, May 27, 2007 in front
of Seven Star gas station at Bgy. Casile, Binan, Laguna by undetermined
number of armed men who were on board two L 300 FB vans whose plate
numbers were covered.
Pastor Guerrero, 46 years old, pastor assigned at the UCCP local in
Malaban, was with his wife Mylene and three children when the abduction
took place. According to his wife, they were on board a tricycle when
military looking armed men blocked their way, poked their guns on them,
grabbed her bag as they forced Pastor Guerrero in one of the vans.
According to witnesses, some of the abductors were even video taping the
incident. The vans fled to the direction of Carmona.
As of press time, efforts to locate Pastor Guerrero in various military
and police facilities are fruitless.
The abduction of Pastor Guerrero took place two months after a similar
incident took place on March 30 along Aguinaldo Highway in Dasmarinas,
Cavite, where the Union Theological Seminary is located. Pastor Guerrero
is a student of the seminary.
Before entering the ministry, Pastor Guerrero served as General Secretary
of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Southern Tagalog in 1980's. The UCCP
believes that his abduction is linked with the on going crackdown against
militants and activists in the labor, farmers, fisherfolks, and urban poor
sectors, as well as journalists and human rights workers where almost a
thousand have been killed, injured, and forcibly disappeared.
The United Church of Christ in the Philippines has been figured in a
military orientation document called "Knowing the Enemy" and listed as a
leftist front organization. About 30 UCCP pastors, lay workers have been
killed since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assumed office in 2001.
The UCCP joins his wife, Mylene and the rest of the family in appealing to
those who abducted his husband to release him immediately and ensure his
safety.
The UCCP calls on the government and its security forces to stop this
process of harassment of legitimate organizations as a violation of duly
constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms.
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Above statement in txt format
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Statement of the National Council of Churches in the
Philippines (NCCP) on the abduction of Pastor Guerrero
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Activist pastor abducted in front of Laguna church
after Sunday service
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Release Pastor Berlin Guerrero! - Statement of the
PCPR
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Arrest warrant is not a permit to abduct persons --
Bayan Muna
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SURFACE FILIPINO ACTIVIST PASTOR, BERLIN GURRERO!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-bTMv5WwgM
On May 27, Activist-Pastor Berlin Gurrero of the United Church of Christ
of the Philippines was abudcted by unidentified armed men shortly after
doing a service in Biñan, Laguna.
This was a year after BAYAN-Southern Tagalog deputy. sec. gen., Noli
Capulong, a close friend of Pastor Berlin and fellow activist in UCCP,was
gunned down in Calamba City.
Pastor Berlin formerly served as Secretary General of BAYAN-Southern
Tagalog.
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Statement of Pastor Berlin V.
Guerrero
What does it take a government to have the nerve to abduct, torture, and
terrorize my family on the basis of an old inciting to sedition case and a
baseless murder charge?
Far more absurd is the accusation that I am the Secretary of the CPP
Provincial committee in Cavite . This lie that they tried to extract from
me by means of physical, mental and psychological torture and projecting
me in public as a “hand-gun and grenade carrying rebel.”
I am a Pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and
never participated in any killings, illegal or unlawful activities, or any
common crime.
My family and I have just taken a tricycle from the local church which I
have served for two consecutive years (June 2006-2007) where we just
celebrated UCCP’s and the local church’s 59th and 72nd anniversaries
respectively (On May 27, at around 5:30 pm, a white van cut the tricycle’s
path and military-looking men quickly alighted to grab me; despite my plea
that they show me the warrant they said they had. I was man-handled and
forcefully shoved inside the van, put a handcuff on my hands behind me,
covered my head with a cloth and packing tape, was beaten, punched and
kicked repeatedly.
They brought me to a place I didn’t know. Here, still handcuffed, men
would take turn interrogating and beating my head with their fists and
blunt objects. (Like a 1,000 ml mineral bottle and other objects). All
throughout, layers of plastic bags covered my head. My torturers would
tighten the bag until I could no longer breathe. I passed out two times
and urinated in my pants.
They made me shake my head for about an hour and beat me whenever I
stopped they said they would do these things to my family if I did not
cooperate. I was forced to give names and addresses of my whole family,
officers of church and conferences, name of my administrator at Union
Theological Seminary where I am studying theology, leaders of progressive
labour and peasant organizations in Southern Tagalog.
They opened my computer by forcing me to give the password, got my e-mail
password. They erased all of my church, school and personal files and
replace it with documents that belong to the so-called underground left.
After about twelve hours, they put me back on the van still handcuffed and
blindfolded. They threatened to kill me, burn me or bury me. They
continued to beat me and make new names for me. They got my sim card.
They called me Pastor-Impostor. And lectured me on the “evils” of
communism and how the church, legal people’s organizations are “used” to
create trouble by criticizing the government. |
When the van stopped, it took an hour before they led me down, made me sit
down and lie down. After an hour, they removed my blindfold. Here I
learned I was in Imus, Cavite specifically at Camp Pantaleon Garcia,
Cavite Provincial Police Office (PPO).
Later on in the afternoon, that was the only time I saw the warrants of
arrest and to what unit of the PNP I was turned over to by my abductors.
Now that I have the time to collect my thoughts and view my situation
inside what police offices “call a subhuman” cell, let me make a
preliminary analysis of my unfinished ordeal.
(1) The unit which abducted me is an organized AFP unit which operates
covertly or below the law. It is composed of elements coming from
different units of AFP’s Intelligence Community. As a counter-insurgency
unit, it uses ex-NPAs. They are lawless enforcers.
(2) Making use of court cases which involves suspected personalities of
the left, no matter how weak, these cases may be served and used to make
the arrest legitimate. In my case, I am implicated in a Murder Case in
1990. Case files show that I do not have a direct or indirect link to the
crime.
(3) To bring me to the court by means of the arrest warrants is secondary.
Their primary objective is to extract information from me by means of
torture.
(4) It is also meant to terrorize my family, my relatives, friends, church
members and practically everyone I know and who know me. It creates a
thinking that this repeated attack on a person’s right, which may end in
incarceration or death, can happen to anybody.
I am outraged by their branding me as a “Pastor-Impostor” because it is an
affront to the sacred office I have sworn to serve God Almighty who knows
every heart and mind.
Finally, I hold the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo government responsible for the
abduction and torture I have suffered and the subhuman captivity I am
forced to accept. The GMA Administration should listen to the repeated
cries of the people to stop violation of human rights and the political
killings.
They may have put in jail, but my spirit is free and firm because God is
with us always.
(SGD.) PASTOR BERLIN V. GUERRERO
United Church of Christ in the Philippines
Inside the Camp Pantaleon Garcia
Cavite Provincial Police Office
Imus, Cavite
May 30, 2007
Statement in Text format
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Office of the General Assembly
Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk
June 4, 2007
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Malacalang Palace
Manila 1005, The Philippines
Dear Madam President:
On behalf of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), I write to express our alarm and dismay over the abduction of
Pastor Berlin Guerrero of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
Our understanding is that he was abducted by members of the Philippine
National Police and the Naval Intelligence Security Forces and is still
being held by Philippine authorities.
We are deeply concerned by reports of the tactics employed in Pastor
Guerrero's abduction. We understand that he was taken by armed men who
carried drawn weapons. No warrant of arrest was produced at the time of
his abduction. Reports indicate that personal affects were taken from
members of his family when he was abducted. We urge you to call for, and
oversee, a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding the
abduction of Pastor Guerrero. This investigation should include the
activities of the police and of the military and security forces.
We have received reports that Pastor Guerrero has been beaten and
tortured. in other ways while in custody. We urge you to call for, and
oversee, a full investigation of the treatment he has received and is
receiving while in custody. This investigation should include the
activities of the police and of the military and security forces.
We understand that criminal allegations have been made against Pastor
Guerrero. We ask that full disclosure be made of the charges on which he
is being held. If the evidence for these charges is not forthcoming and
compelling, then he should be released immediately.
We ask you to ensure that Pastor Berlin Guerrero and all the citizens of
the Philippines are accorded the due process of the law and the respect
for their rights to which the Philippine Constitution entitles them.
Cordially yours,
Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
President, World Alliance of Reformed Churches
cc:
President George Bush
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Senator Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Senate Sub-Committee on EastAsian
and Pacific Affairs
Ambassador Kirstie A. Kenney, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines
His Excellency Willy C. Gaa, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S.A.
Dr. Sam Kobia, General Secretary, World Council of Churches
Dr. Prawate Khid-arn, General Secretary, Christian Conference of Asia
Ms. Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Durendes, General Secretary, National
Council of Churches in the Philippines
Bishop Eliezer Pascua, General Secretary, United Church of Christ in
the Philippines
Letter in Text format
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