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Note: This presents only one side of the story. A separate story will be done featuring the INC’s response. As of Fri morning (8:52am), Jul 24, it was reported that Isaias Samson Jr. has been expelled from INC.
Isaias Samson Jr., 65, a second-generation minister of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), has made quite a lot of allegations against the very same church that he belongs to in a Philippine Daily Inquirer report by Gil C. Cabacungan Marlon Ramos, and Tarra Quismundo.
The report noted: “Samson, suspended last week and removed as editor in chief of the INC’s official publication, Pasugo (God’s Message), also confirmed unrest within what had been long known as a tight-knit congregation, with many harboring ‘resentment’ toward leaders for questionable financial practices.”
On Thu, Jul 23, Samson gave a press conference and here are five of the claims he made:
1. He and his family were allegedly “detained.” Samson alleged that he and his wife, along with their only son were placed “under house arrest” in their townhouse in Tierre Bella, a Quezon City subdivision located near the INC headquarters. He said that they were “under the constant watch of armed guards, some carrying high-powered firearms.” Samson stated, “It was torture actually. We didn’t know what was going on outside, what they planned to do.” Samson said he and his family only managed to escape from their predicament on Thu, Jul 23, after a week of being “detained.”
2. He is wary of the INC Sanggunian. The INC Sanggunian is, put simply, the group’s council of elders. Samson explained, “INC people have been trained to obey and follow the word of God, and if ever a member of the INC has committed an error or mistake, the immediate thing to do is to repent, change his way of life. But that’s not what’s happening now, in what I’ve seen to be the work of the Sanggunian.”
3. The INC accused him of writing negative things about the group. The Inquirer report revealed: “Samson’s detention began after the Sanggunian accused him of writing damning articles against INC under the name Antonio Ebangelista, whose blog posts about alleged wrongdoings in INC have been making the rounds of social media.”
4. Some INC officials supposedly wanted him to “do an interview.” Samson said that last Sat, Jul 18, “certain officials” forced him “to do an interview” and deny the allegations made by Angel and Tenny Manalo. “They wanted me to say that the statements (of Angel and Tenny Manalo) made were not true and that the abductions of ministers were also not true,” Samson said. He added that he refused to do the interview.
5. There’s money involved. Samson said that he and other ministers harbored “resentment” toward certain INC leaders because of “questionable financial practices.” He explained that the decrees of INC’s general auditor, Glicerio Santos Jr., particularly for activities involving members’ donations were controversial. He implied that the finances were mismanaged.
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