So the people may know...

(This is the electronic version of the original paid advertisement that appeared on the May 17 issue of The Manila Times. – Ed.)

The ever increasing spate of persecutions and harassments systematically being committed against us by our religious detractors known for their vaunted political influence in government is a compelling reason for us to avail of this alternative avenue of airing our strongest protest and condemnation against such unabated injustices and unfair practices. With God's help, we hope in the process to still be able to realize a positive outcome in our continuing quest for the elusive "sense of righteousness and fairness" in the midst of a social atmosphere of growing disaffection and discord.

Let it be known to all that we advocate nothing but fair share of justice from government instrumentalities that exercise responsibility in administering the same. Being haled to court is a reality we can easily live with as long as "equal protection of law" is observed and law enforcement is applied to all without fear or favor. Unfortunately however, we are at times deprived of legal remedies which on the other hand are easily available to our detractors. Court records will bear us out for instance that Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) is ordinarily granted to our accusers within hours upon filing of request while our own request for the same has not been acted upon several months after it has been filed.

So many instances of unfair treatment have been experienced by us from the very agencies supposedly tasked to protect our guaranteed constitutional rights. However, the recent resolution from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) comes out to be a fitting climax to the shocking demonstration of selective curtailment of our supposedly inviolable sacred religious freedom and freedom of speech and of the press. All programs related to Ang Dating Daan are row banned from being televised indefinitely so declared by MTRCB! What a way to deprive us of our basic constitutional and human rights!

As if to add insult to injury, our tormentors and their cohorts in government backed up by groups of police escorts in an excessive show of force, trooped to our Ortigas Center UNTV studio. Clearly, their act is intended to harass and take the wits out of us despite our earlier compliance to the latest MTRCB ruling.

We wish neither to be alienated from this government nor the government be alienated from the people. What we are hoping for is for the government to govern not for a particular interest group or two but for all Filipinos so that in the process, the budding seeds of disaffection among many people may be properly addressed and checked even before such disaffection could further develop into a full blown protest.

In like manner, we wish that our detractors and tormentors amidst the darkness of their days would come to see the light of TRUTH, the brightness of our days. We hope that they emerged out of the unlighted closets of their fortress and further explore the deeper wisdom of the WORD OF GOD. Holding out to the doctrine of spiritual fairy tale is a desperate effort to preserve total materialism at the expense of spiritual salvation. For how can one be saved by embracing for example their unbiblical and mythical 'The Angel and the Big Four" theory of salvation while propagating the practice of supper (allegedly the "Holy" type) during breakfast time? Indeed, it is this kind of mythical and cultist approach in a different kind of evangelism that eventually led them to invent a blatantly blasphemous doctrine that Jesus Christ has not a pinch of divinity. Moreover, they claim that there is no salvation outside their church so that the Catholics, Muslims, and Protestants among others are hopeless and hell bound according to them. Such inherent spiritual wickedness, corruption and deception characterize the kind of psychological designs being used by them to gain and control adherents albeit temporal. Their uncanny ability to promote the doctrine of LIES in shameless defiance of TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS is coupled with the mastery of deceptive diversionary tactics. Such a devious method is likewise employed by them in a desperate attempt to evade the onslaught of TRUTH from our end hoping to escape the prospect of self-destructive exposure of spiritual defeat. This explains their cowardly refusal to accept our religious debate challenge invoking lame excuses and reasoning out some mouthful of nonsense. Instead of meeting the challenge to prove their worth, a wicked method of serialized persecutions and harassments has been implemented to silence us and take the heat off them but they are wrong. We will forever be vigilant in guarding against deceptive religion for the sake of TRUTH and spiritual salvation. With the present situation prevailing, we could only pray for our detractor's enlightenment and wish that they repent.

Finally, we hope that legitimate grievances herein mentioned would merit the attention of those concerned for the greater interest of TRUTH, JUSTICE, and FAIR PLAY.

From WORKERS, OFFICERS AND MEMBERS of ANG DATING DAAN.

-- Kaanib Correspondents