The provincial prosecutor of Pampanga has recommended the filing of rape charges against a television evangelist who allegedly sodomized a former leader of his congregation on two occasions.
In a five-page resolution, Pampanga acting provincial prosecutor Jaime Umpa recommended that Ang Dating Daan leader Eliseo Soriano post a P400,000 bail bond (P200,000 for each count) for his temporary liberty.
"After a careful evaluation of the evidence submitted by the parties, the [prosecutor] finds that probable cause exists to hold respondent for two counts of rape," the resolution said, rejecting Soriano’s defense that the accusations against him were "fabricated, baseless and malicious."
Soriano denied the allegations against him, saying that they were part of a "demolition job" perpetrated by the Iglesia ni Cristo church, with whom his group has been feuding.
The charges against Soriano stemmed from the complaint of Daniel Veridiano, a former assistant general secretary of the Church of God International, the formal name of his sect.
Veridiano said that in 1998, Soriano asked him to join him in Apalit, Pampanga, where he met with the church leader everyday.
At 1:30 p.m. on May 17, 2000, Veridiano said that Soriano called for him and asked him to go to the latter’s room, where Soriano allegedly asked him to give him a massage.
Out of fear for the respondent, Veridiano said, he was not able to resist when Soriano ordered him to first masturbate him before Soriano allegedly sodomized him.
Veridiano said similar events took place a year later, on June 8, 2001, with Soriano under almost the same circumstances.
Veridiano said he also saw Soriano doing the same thing to the other workers of Ang Dating Daan.
In his counteraffidavit, Soriano described Veridiano’s accusations as baseless and malicious.
Soriano also said that Veridiano was never an assistant secretary general of the church.
He said that Veridiano misappropriated the funds of the church to benefit himself as head of Ang Dating Daan's communication and information technology department.
Soriano also accused Veridiano of raping other members of Ang Dating Daan.
He said that the filing of rape case against him by Veridiano was a retaliatory and desperate act by Veridiano after the latter was expelled from the church sometime in August 2005.
He accused the Iglesia ni Cristo of being behind what he said was "the latest albeit desperate attempt to harass, intimidate and blemish" his reputation.
He also filed perjury charges against Veridiano.
But the provincial prosecutor dismissed Soriano's defense that he could not have committed rape because he was somewhere else at the time.
"While it does not appear that respondent employed force, threat or intimidation, he exercised moral ascendancy over the complainan," Umpa said.
"Moral ascendancy or influence exercised by the accused over the victim substitutes for the element of physical force or intimidation in cases of rape, and it may be added, acts of lasciviousness. The crime is aggravated by the fact that the victim, herein complainant, is a religious engaged in legitimate religious vocation or calling and is personally known to be such by the offender at the time of the commission of the crime."
