CBCP site: Pastor abducted, tortured in S Luzon

MANILA, Philippines - A pastor of a Protestant church group was abducted in Southern Luzon early this month, reports reaching the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Tuesday. The CBCP, in a statement on its website, said United Church of Christ in the Philippines pastor Rodel Canja was abducted May 6 while on his way to a conference. "One man casually invited him to ride in the van and warned him not to ask any question. 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," said Promotion of Church People's Response (PCPR) secretary general Annie Dural in an interview with CBCPNews. Dural said the van was unmarked and that Canja while was on his way to the Annual Conference of the UCCP Northeast Southern Tagalog Conference. When the pastor regained his consciousness, the men began torturing and interrogating him about the personality of UCCP Pastor Berlin Guerrero. Guerrero is presently detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Camp Pantaleon in Imus, Cavite. The PCPR said Guerrero was abducted on May 27 last year. Police claimed he is an active member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Dural said that for four days, two to four men alternately interrogated Canja about Pastor Berlin and two other UCCP ministers. While clicking their guns, the men repeatedly asked Pastor Canja to confirm that Pastor Berlin was a member of the "P," a code referring to CPP. "As part of the psychological torture, one of the abductors fired his gun, giving the cleric a false feeling that he was wounded, added Dural. His wallet and money were confiscated, too," Dural said. "And when they saw the pictures of his two siblings, they threatened the pastor to kill his siblings if he would ever talk about his experience. The pastor is reportedly suffering from psychological trauma," she said. "With the hundreds of cases of abductions and extra-judicial killings in the country, the AFP mastered the scheme of identifying legitimate people's organizations as 'front' of the CPP. The Armed Forces of the Philippines insists on linking activist citizens to the CPP and its armed group to justify attacks on their lives and liberty," Dural lamented. From 2001 to present, 27 church people including Bishop Alberto Ramento of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) have been victims of extra-judicial killings. "To date, none of the assailants have been brought to justice," she said. - GMANews.TV