Philippine judge frees bishop after false weapons allegation
A judge in the Philippines ordered the release of a Protestant bishop this month, saying the evidence against him was “not strong enough to convict.” Police claimed Bishop Carlo Morales possessed illegal explosives and detained him for 10 months. Many religious groups denounced the claims as false, the Anglican Communion News Service reported.
Authorities released Morales on bail, but prosecutors are seeking additional evidence against him, UCA News reported.
As the religious majority in the country, Christians in the Philippines don’t generally face government persecution, but they sometimes are accused in the government’s decadeslong anti-communism efforts. Christians often work with the poor in rural areas where the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), also operate.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared the CPP and NPA “terrorist” groups in 2017. This month, Duterte sought to label as terrorists 600 individuals, including four Catholic priests, a UN official, and a former lawmaker.
“The act of prosecuting a servant of God based on trumped-up charges is a big injustice imposed on a person and to the church that expressed solidarity with the struggle of the people,” said Supreme Bishop Rhee Timbang of the Philippine Independent Church, Morales’ denomination. Timbang also criticized the “persecution of activists tagged as terrorists.” —Julia A. Seymour