Controversial Christian preacher Brother Eliseo Soriano died at the age of 73, his church announced before dawn on Friday, February 12.
He had moved to Brazil after fleeing the Philippines around 17 years ago in the face of controversies, including a libel case that resulted in a guilty verdict upheld by the Supreme Court (SC) in 2018.
“It is with deep sadness, yet with full faith in the Almighty, that we announce the passing of our beloved and one and only Brother Eliseo ‘Eli’ Soriano – a faithful preacher, brother, father, and grandfather to many,” announced his television program, Ang Dating Daan, in a statement posted on Facebook past 3 am on Friday.
“Up to the last moments of his life, Brother Eli was able to fulfill his vow to the Almighty that manifests in his love to serve the brethren,” the statement added.
Soriano was leader of the Christian group Members Church of God International, and was best known as host of the church’s long-running television program Ang Dating Daan or “The Old Path.”
In this program, the tough-talking preacher explained the Bible and sought to debunk the beliefs of other religions. His animated, no-holds-barred style stirred curiosity and prompted backlash from other religious groups – including the Catholic Church, where 8 of 10 Filipinos belong, and the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), a politically influential church that endorses candidates in elections reportedly to gain political favors.
Soriano became so popular that Bubble Gang, a long-running comedy show in broadcast giant GMA-7, spoofed his program as “Ang Dating Doon” starting in the late 1990s, with a preacher named “Brod Pete” and his signature remark “Alien!”
Born on April 4, 1947, Soriano started his ministry in Pampanga and registered his religious group on March 30, 1977, after breaking away from another Christian church that he believed “already went astray.”
He later founded his TV program Ang Dating Daan, which started airing on IBC-13 in 1983, his official profile said. The program “moved from one channel to another,” however, after other religious groups “connived and pressured” IBC-13 to cancel the show.
Ang Dating Daan eventually “found a new and permanent home” in the TV station UNTV, which was launched by his deputy, former ABS-CBN and GMA-7 broadcaster Daniel Razon, in 2004.
Fleeing the Philippines
Soriano fled the Philippines in the mid-2000s at around the same time he was facing a string of controversies, including cases of rape and libel.
According to his official profile, “religious persecution” forced Soriano to leave the Philippines in 2004. “At present, Brother Eli has settled in Brazil where his global evangelization efforts are also in full swing.”
Based on records from the SC, Soriano was indicted for libel on January 15, 1999, for issuing defamatory statements against another Christian group, Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry led by popular preacher Wilde Almeda on July 31, 1998.
A similar libel case was filed against him on June 9, 2000.
Soriano pleaded not guilty to both charges, but an Iriga court found him guilty of two counts of libel on June 8, 2012. The Court of Appeals later upheld the ruling of the regional trial court.
The SC, in a ruling on November 21, 2018, affirmed the guilty verdict in Soriano’s second libel case, but acquitted him in the earlier one. The SC said Soriano’s statements in the second case serve to “degrate and insult” Almeda, but the other case “does not refer to any specific individual or pastor.”
Still, the SC said: “Petitioner’s claim that his statements are absolutely protected by the Constitution because they are expressions of religious beliefs do not merit any consideration. As what this Court stated in Soriano v. Laguardia, et al, “Plain and simple insults directed at another person cannot be elevated to the status of religious speech. Even petitioner attempts to place his words in context show that he was moved by anger and the need to seek retribution, not by any religious conviction.”
Separately, Soriano faced a rape case filed by his former church member, Daniel Veridiano, for which a court ordered his arrest in May 2006, according to GMA News. The Philippine Star reported that Soriano posted a P240,000 ($4,990) bail in 2008.
On his official Twitter account, Soriano said in May 2015 that the rape case had already been dismissed, but a “higher power” intervened and “that shouldn’t be.” – Rappler.com
via PK
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