2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy

rdf:langString 2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy

rdf:langString The 2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy is a dispute between senior members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) in the Philippines. In July 2015, it was reported that the INC had expelled some of its ministers, along with high-profile members Felix Nathaniel "Angel" Manalo and Cristina "Tenny" Villanueva Manalo, the brother and mother of current INC Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo, respectively. Angel and Tenny were expelled from the INC for allegedly "sowing disunity" in the Church. The INC administration released a statement claiming that Eduardo had agreed to the expulsion of his brother and mother from the INC, as decided upon by its overall leadership. However, both Angel and Tenny claimed their lives were threatened by the Iglesia administration. Angel and Tenny had reportedly been illegally detained at the Iglesia's Central Office Complex in Tandang Sora, Quezon City, and that at least ten ministers of the Church were missing and alleged to have been abducted. Former INC ministers Roel Rosal and Isaias Samson, Jr., claimed that the Sanggunián (the highest administrative council of the INC) had unlawfully abducted and detained ministers, along with members of the Manalo family, to cover up corruption surrounding the chief auditor, Glicerio "Jun" Santos, Jr. On July 24, 2015, the INC, represented by Glicerio B. Santos IV, head counsel and son of Santos, Jr., filed a libel complaint against Samson. Detained INC Evangelical Worker Lowell Menorca stated that he was forcibly detained by the INC administration, and was kidnapped at gunpoint by police officers in the employ of INC leaders and was forced to deny his captivity under duress. Menorca later fled to Canada and filed for refugee status, which was granted in 2018, with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada stating: "When the panel considers the links between the INC and the law enforcement authorities in the Philippines, the general climate of impunity that pervades Philippines law enforcement, particularly with respect to the issue of extrajudicial killing, and the level of corruption that exists in the Philippines government and law enforcement apparatus, the panel is satisfied Menorca would be unable to avail himself of state protection, from the risks that he fears in that country..."