And a case in point is the preacher and evangelist, Bro. Eli Soriano.
The Eliseo Soriano Case
Bro. Eliseo Soriano is a prominent host of UNTV, particularly the ADD by Demand of The Old Path (TOP) Channel. A critical televangelist, he is also the leader of the Members of Church of God International (MCGI), a homegrown religious organization in the country that is now gaining international recognition and affiliation. On May 7, 2005, Soriano received a memorandum of suspension from Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) under the Office of the President that is being chaired by Ma. Consoliza Laguardia. She took such action when the INC filed a complaint that Soriano called the sect “Iglesia ni Manalo” (Church of Manalo) as he was addressing that the organization was founded by Felix Manalo. However, the Commission on Human Rights - National Capital Region (CHR-NCR) found that Laguardia’s action was inconsistent when she dismissed the case with the same nature that Soriano filed against the respondents. As if adding insult to the injury, the Board suspended even four television shows of Soriano’s group namely “Itanong Mo Kay Soriano” (Ask Soriano, the Bible will answer), D’ X-Man, “Ayon sa Biblia” (According to the Bible), and Ang Dating Daan (The Old Path) for a period of thirty days. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR-NCR) said in their 19 October 2005 news release that the MTRCB’s decision was unfair while Soriano’s contentions were meritorious.
Jojo Robles in Manila Standard Today (25 May 2005) reported of this case and quoted Soriano as saying, “The very agency (MTRCB) supposedly tasked to protect our guaranteed constitutional rights, is now being used to issue illegal orders against Ang Dating Daan.” Robles' article, titled “INC Against Free Press?” further said, “We wonder if the press freedom advocates, who are quick and unrelenting in their condemnation of any curtailment of the freedom of the press (and the killing of journalists) will have anything to say about these two cases involving INC before they, too, degenerate into actual shooting wars.” The two cases Robles was talking about were those of Ross Tipon and Eliseo Soriano.
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