Malacañang will be watching “with interest" the developments on the P5.4-million civil case filed by a Christian Church group against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Palace cannot “interfere" in the case as it has no knowledge of the details of the complaint and is not a direct party to the case.
“Wala kaming detalye sa kaso at hindi kami party to it. Just like most of our citizens, we just watch ano ang mangyayari sa kasong ito," Valte said on government radio dzRB.
Meanwhile, another umbrella Church group threw its support behind the civil case against Arroyo.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) voiced support for the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in seeking justice for the extrajudicial killings under the Arroyo administration.
“The NCCP lauds the recourse of the UCCP to seek legal redress in the pursuit of justice for her pastors and church workers who have been victims of extrajudicial killings, arrests without warrants, illegal detention and other forms of human rights violations," NCCP general secretary Rex Reyes Jr. said in an article posted Friday afternoon on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site.
Earlier, the UCCP lodged a civil suit against Arroyo for some of its pastors who were abducted and killed in the provinces from 2003 to 2006, supposedly by military operatives.
It added the UCCP’s move is a “leap of faith much more so in a system that shows partiality to those in position of wealth and power."
“Something indeed is terribly wrong when pastors and church workers are killed, arrested and detained or go missing while they are teaching people to know, defend and fight for their rights," the NCCP said.
“The cry of our sisters and brothers unjustly vexed call on us today to stand firm and persist in demanding justice," Reyes added.
In its suit, the UCCP asked the Quezon City court to order Arroyo to pay the organization P1 million for moral damages; P500,000 each for the relatives of the six alleged victims and also for moral damages; P500,000 for exemplary damages; and P300,000 each for litigation and attorneys' fees.
Another plaintiff, Pastor Berlin Guerrero, is also seeking P300,000 moral damages for his alleged illegal arrest, detention and the torture he claimed to have suffered at the hands of government soldiers.
Among the alleged victims of the killings were: Joel Baclao, UCCP Disaster Relief Program Coordinator in Bicol who was shot dead on Nov. 10, 2004;
UCCP Pastor Edison Lapuz of Tacloban City, who was killed on May 12, 2003;
Noel Capulong, chairperson of UCCP’s Christian Witness Program in Calamba, who was killed on May 27, 2006;
UCCP Pastors Raul Domingo and Andy Pawican, who were shot dead on Aug. 20, 2005 and May 21, 2006, respectively.Guerrero was allegedly abducted on May 27, 2007 while on his way from servicing the Local Church in Malabanan, Santa Rosa, Laguna.
The military allegedly detained him for 16 months and tortured him several times.
The UCCP also claimed that there were at least 22 others in the organization who were either killed or suffered violent attacks from the military. — LBG
