Ross Tipon is a freelance author based in Baguio, Philippines, who formerly wrote a column for a now-defunct daily publication in Manila called Philippines Newsday.
His later works are mainly political in nature, being a critic of government corruption in the Philippines and an advocate of Philippine recolonization by the United States.
In July 2005, Tipon published a book entitled The Power and the Glory: The Cult of Manalo, which is critical of the Iglesia ni Cristo, a politically influential Philippine-based Christian denomination. The INC promptly filed a lawsuit claiming that the book was defamatory of its organization. The INC further claimed that the publication of Tipon's book will cause social unrest. For his part Tipon accused the INC of suppressing his rights to free speech.
The Power and the Glory: The Cult of Manalo catalogued what he believed to be the INC's un-biblical doctrines. Critics of the INC believe members of the INC and the public should be free to study educated criticisms directed at any doctrine of any religious group in the spirit of the free speech and religious freedom.
The eventual publication of The Power and the Glory: The Cult of Manalo has effectively challenged the limits of the INC's perceived influence among political leaders in the Philippines.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that: regulate an establishment of religion; prohibit the free exercise of religion; abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.
Iglesia ni Cristo is an independent Nontrinitarian Christian church, founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Y. Manalo in 1914 as a unipersonal religious corporation to the Insular Government of the Philippines.
Christianity is the predominant religion in the Philippines, with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. Sizeable minorities adhering to Islam, Indian religions, and indigenous Philippine folk religions are also present.
Eraño de Guzman Manalo, also known as Ka Erdy, was the second Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), serving from April 19, 1963, until August 31, 2009. He took over the administration of the church after the death of his father, Felix Y. Manalo, in 1963. He was instrumental in the propagation and expansion of the church internationally.
Eduardo Villanueva Manalo also known as Ka Eduardo is the current Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). He is the third generation of the Manalo family to lead the church following his father, the late Eraño G. Manalo, and his grandfather, Felix Y. Manalo.
Nicomedes "Nick" Marquez Joaquin was a Filipino writer and journalist best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila. Joaquin was conferred the rank and title of National Artist of the Philippines for Literature. He has been considered one of the most important Filipino writers, along with José Rizal and Claro M. Recto. Unlike Rizal and Recto, whose works were written in Spanish, Joaquin's major works were written in English despite being literate in Spanish.
Freedom of religion in the Philippines is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Philippines.
Felix Y. Manalo , also known as Ka Felix, was the first Executive Minister of Iglesia ni Cristo. Members of Iglesia Ni Cristo believe that Felix Manalo is the last messenger of God. He is the father of Eraño G. Manalo, who succeeded him as Executive Minister of the INC, and the grandfather of Eduardo V. Manalo, the current Executive Minister of Iglesia ni Cristo.
The Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, Inc. (PBMA) is a non-sectarian and non-profit charitable religious fraternal organization for men and women in the Philippines founded by Ruben Edera Ecleo Sr. in 1965 on the Philippine island of Dinagat, off the coast of Mindanao. Upon the senior Ecleo's death in 1987, he was succeeded by his son Ruben B. Ecleo Jr., who died in prison on May 13, 2021, after being convicted of killing his wife in 2002.
Since 1980, there have been conflicts between Philippine-based Christian religious organizations Iglesia ni Cristo and the Members Church of God International (MCGI), when MCGI Overall Servant Eliseo Soriano started his radio program Ang Dating Daan (ADD). Through his program, he discussed biblical issues and "exposed" what he believes to be wrong doctrines of other religious groups, including those of INC. In 2001, after 20 years of reticence, the INC launched its own program, Ang Tamang Daan, as a direct response for the first time to Ang Dating Daan, featuring video footages and recordings of ADD hosts as issues were tackled. Over time, the animosity between the two groups has intensified and the relationship has been severely strained.
The United Church of Christ in the Philippines is a Christian denomination in the Philippines. Established in its present form in Malate, Manila, it resulted from the merger of the Evangelical Church of the Philippines, the Philippine Methodist Church, the Disciples of Christ, the United Evangelical Church and several independent congregations.
Itanong mo kay Soriano, Biblia ang Sasagot! also known as Ang Dating Daan:Bible Exposition is a religious radio and television program in the Philippines produced by the Members Church of God International and hosted by Bro. Eli Soriano. Unlike its sister program, Ang Dating Daan: Bible Study and Mass Indoctrination, the program features a question and answer format in which any visitor in the show can ask Soriano about biblical teachings. In the Philippines, the broadcast of this program takes place right after Ang Dating Daan and it became a separate show in 1993. In the other countries, however, this show is part of the TV program O Caminho Antigo which is also hosted by Soriano. He regularly conducts "Bible Expositions" in specific venues where the people can ask him personally on biblical issues, the Exposition is then recorded and broadcast as this show.
Felix Manalo is a 2015 Filipino biographical film about the life of Felix Ysagun Manalo, the first Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo, and the church he preached. Manalo is regarded by the members of the Iglesia ni Cristo as the last messenger of God and the restorer of the true Church of Christ, whom the INC gives the title Sugò. The story and screenplay were written by INC evangelism head Bienvenido Santiago. The film was directed by Joel Lamangan. All content of the film was screened and approved by the INC.
The Iglesia Watawat Ng Lahi, Inc. is a socio-folk religious group based on Lecheria Hill in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines which believes in the divinity of José Rizal, a historic figure of the Philippine Revolution. It is often considered as the original Rizalist group among the many other Rizalista religious movements.
The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos is a 1976 memoir written in exile by former press censor and propagandist Primitivo Mijares. It details the inner workings of Philippine martial law under Ferdinand Marcos from the perspective of Mijares.
Ciudad de Victoria also known as the Philippine Arena Complex is a 140-hectare tourism enterprise zone in the towns of Bocaue and Santa Maria in Bulacan, Philippines. It is located north of Metro Manila along the North Luzon Expressway. The site where it is located used to be a farmland and was converted and being developed into a mixed-use area that will integrate residential and office buildings as well as shopping, entertainment, leisure, education, business and sports complex. It is owned by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a Filipino-based indigenous Christian religious organization, through its educational institution, the New Era University, and operated by Maligaya Development Corporation. It was inaugurated on July 21, 2014 in commemoration of INC's centennial celebration on July 27, 2014.
The 2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy is a dispute between senior members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) in the Philippines. In July 2015, it was reported that the INC had expelled some of its ministers, along with high-profile members Felix Nathaniel "Angel" Manalo and Cristina "Tenny" Villanueva Manalo, the brother and mother of current INC Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo, respectively.
Cristina Arámbulo Villanueva Manalo, popularly known as Ka Tenny Manalo, is the widow of former Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) executive minister Eraño G. Manalo. She stood a loyal wife beside her husband who led the church for over 46 years, from the death of Felix Manalo in 1963 and until the latter's death in 2009. Her eldest son, Eduardo V. Manalo, who was at the time deputy executive minister, assumed the post seven days after his predecessor's demise.
At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the sectarian "rebellion" of the Muslim Independence Movement (MIM). Opposition figures of the time accused Marcos of exaggerating these threats and using them as an excuse to consolidate power and extend his tenure beyond the two presidential terms allowed by the 1935 constitution. Marcos' signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972, marking the beginning of a fourteen-year period of one-man rule which effectively lasted until Marcos was exiled from the country on February 25, 1986. Proclamation No. 1081 was formally lifted on January 17, 1981, although Marcos retained essentially all of his powers as dictator until he was ousted in February 1986.
Ferdinand Marcos developed a cult of personality as a way of remaining President of the Philippines for 20 years, in a way that political scientists have compared to other authoritarian and totalitarian leaders such as Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, but also to more contemporary dictators such as Suharto in Indonesia, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and the Kim dynasty of North Korea.
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