Yet Another Iglesia Ni Cristo Debacle…

Ladies and gentlemen, let me get some facts out of the way first before I begin. Now, some of you here have taken to calling me “chaplain” or “preacher” as I have admitted that I do indeed hold religious beliefs. However, let me make it clear to you that I just find this all hilariously ironic and that, if I do seem preachy in a lot of my articles, I’m most likely just playing along to your perception of me. Truth be told, I have never seen myself as anything “holy” as I know in my heart that I am deeply flawed and broken and nothing proves this more than my indolence and perversion. If anything, I support the idea of “secularism for the sake of professionalism” as I think that no one is allowed to speak on anyone else’s behalf before God Himself. It is my belief that when we die, we will have to face Him alone and that no one else can speak for us when The Big Guy makes an inquiry and passes judgement upon us. The only one we can hold accountable for what we do on Earth is ourselves and no other person be they Catholic Priest, Protestant Reverend, Jewish Rabbi, Muslim Imam, Buddhist Monk, Hindu Guru, Shinto Miko, Tom Cruise or Spaghetti Chef is allowed to intervene on our behalf.

That said, take note that I am not passing judgement on anyone on this article. I am not being judgmental here, ladies and gentlemen, I am merely speculating over facts and statistics that have been presented before me. Whether or not I’m wrong is up to debate and I will not mind at all if there are those of you who choose to disagree. However, before you once again let your emotions get the better of you, please spare some time to consider what I have to say.

This video here was presented to me on FB by my FB friend and reader Christian Lapuz Vitug. It shows former Iglesia ni Christo minister Lowell Menorca being arrested by rather suspicious men claiming to be police officers under the charge of libel which perhaps pertains to his criticism of corruption within the religious organization.

Jinky Otsuka, sister of Mr. Menorca and who is credited with taking the video before us, can be heard in the background angrily berating the alleged arresting officers and demanding that they present warrants, badges and other credentials before they arrest her brother. Note that the aforementioned suspicious men making the arrest are not wearing any kind of uniform, have no badge, license or ID that can allow them to be identified as police and lack any kind of warrant or legal papers that can prove that what they are doing is indeed legal or ethical. I don’t know how the debacle ended but I certainly hope that no one got hurt and that this issue can eventually be sorted out in court sooner or later. Of course, knowing how courts function in the Philippines, I can only wonder about the last.

Anyway, critics of the video claim that it is scripted and that the whole scene was orchestrated by Mrs. Otsuka so as to divert attention from her brother’s hearing to which they were headed for in the first place. If that is indeed the case, then I think Mrs. Otsuka certainly deserves an award for such damn fine acting on her part. The indignation and desperation in her voice sounds so convincing that I think she’d probably make a better actress than the alleged “Queen of All Media” Kris Aquino herself. The suspicious men, I think, also deserve an award for inspiring genuine fear in me as they really seem questionable as police officers and, if I didn’t know any better, I would really assume that they are in fact kidnappers, or worse assassins, who have come take Mr. Menorca away.

However, if this is in fact NOT scripted, then it seems that the INC may be more than what it appears to be…

Look, one of the biggest issues in the whole incident is the fact that some of the alleged officers involved is believed to be a member of the INC as well. This is a strong breach of professionalism (at least in my opinion) because it introduces personal grudges and potentially biased thinking. In other countries, police officers with personal ties to a case are generally frowned upon or are removed altogether to present a less biased approach to the situation.

Also of note is the fact that none of the alleged “officers” involved were able to produce any kind of identification or confirmation that they were indeed members of local law enforcement. While they insisted they had credentials, nothing was really shown on camera. Now, while I am willing to consider the fact that Mrs. Otsuka was too distraught at the time to think more logically, it’s rather telling that some of the alleged “officers” were all too quick to resort to threats of arrest towards Mrs. Otsuka rather than providing her with clear credentials.

It seems that the heads of INC have denied any connection to the incident and that they had nothing to do with the fiasco that happened. However, need I remind people that just about any organization (save perhaps terrorist organizations like ISIS) tend to resort to denial when caught with their pants down. What’s worse is that, as always, the INC will once again blurt out stuff they don’t properly understand like “separation between church and state” and object to any kind of investigation that will be made into their organization.

What saddens me most is that the INC has somehow become a monolithic and untouchable force in the Philippines because of it’s “kingmaker” status. Indeed, the INC has come to embody the concept of impunity in the Philippines as their leaders and some of their less civilized members seem to believe that they are indeed well above the law and that their righteousness is unquestionable.

Grimwald

I HAVE RETURNED TO LAY WASTE TO OUR ENEMIES!