Another UCCP Pastor Abducted

Victim Tortured, Interrogated to Confirm Military Accusations vs Detained UCCP Pastor Berlin Guerrero

Even as the family and co-workers of UCCP Pastor Berlin Guerrero continue to cry out for freedom and justice for Pastor Berlin, another UCCP worker, Pastor Rodel Canja suffered torture in the hands of military agents. For four days, armed men alternately interrogated him and pressed him to confirm that Pastor Berlin was a member of the “P,” apparently referring to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) which has been the allegation of those who abducted and detained Pastor Berlin on a trumped-up murder charge.

In a press conference at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) today, church leaders expressed support to Pastor Rodel and hailed his courage to speak out on his ordeal despite threats of his abductors.

Mylene Guerrero, wife of Pastor Berlin lamented, “Nalulungkot kami na nadagdagan na naman ang mga biktima. Ramdam na ramdam namin ang paghihirap ngayon ni Pastor Rodel at kanyang pamilya dahil sa aming naranasan noong dukutin si Pastor Berlin isang taon na ang nakaraan.”

In a statement from the Cavite Provincial Jail, Pastor Berlin noted:

The recent abduction, torture and four-day involuntary detention of my co-worker UCCP Pastor Rodel Canja, which I vehemently denounce, only proves how stone-hearted the Arroyo Government remains. It has never abandoned its unjust annihilative war against its own people. Its rhetoric of peace and peace talks serve only to mask its beastly character.

Summary of Incident

On May 6, 2008, Pastor Rodel was about to attend the Annual Conference of the UCCP Northeast Southern Tagalog Conference. At past 9:00 am, while looking for a cellphone load station across the UCCP church in Tanay, Rizal, a van stopped in front of him. One man casually invited him to ride in the van and warned him not to ask any questions. Inside the van, another man pointed a gun at him while the man who invited him to ride in the van placed a handkerchief in his nose that left him unconscious.

When Pastor Rodel regained consciousness, he found himself in a room. His ordeal began. For four days, two to four men alternately interrogated him about Pastor Berlin and two other UCCP ministers. While clicking their guns, the men repeatedly asked Pastor Rodel to confirm that Pastor Berlin was a member of the “P.”

On the third day, May 8, one of his abductors grabbed his head and pointed the gun at his mouth while demanding him to admit that Pastor Berlin was a member of the “P.” At one point, he heard a gunshot and thought that he was finished. His abductors chorused in laughter while his mind went blank.

Pastor Rodel’s abductors also got his cellphone and wallet including all his money and pictures of his two siblings.

On the fourth day, May 9, Pastor Rodel’s abductors warned him that “many things can happen to his siblings” if he will tell his family and others about what they did to him. Then they blindfolded him as they set out for another psychological torture on the road. While inside the van, his abductors talked about plans to kill him instead of dropping him off alive somewhere. It was already dark when they finally released him. Before leaving, his abductors again told him to remember their warnings.

In those four days, Pastor Rodel feared that he would be shot dead. Though he was not severely tortured physically, he has to battle with deep psychological trauma and continuing fear for his life and the safety of his parents and siblings. The images of the men playing with their guns on him have been etched in his mind.

Pastor Rodel Canja was the former roommate and co-worker of Pastor Berlin. Even before the abduction of Pastor Berlin in May 2007, Pastor Rodel has also been a victim of harassment and interrogation about Pastor Berlin. It appears that the latest attack and continuing threats against him is a hint of devious schemes of military agents to continue detaining Pastor Berlin on patently false charges.