INC’s Propaganda against the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and its Protected Persons

A few days from now, you will witness for yourself an event that I and my team have been following very closely the past few months and you will understand why we have been very busy and were unable to update this blog. There’s so much to publish here and there but I chose to wait for the BIG ONE! Meanwhile, let’s tackle something significantly interesting but a story that will pale in comparison to the one that is about to be published very soon. Let’s call it a twist of fate…

Since the current church administration of Eduardo V. Manalo couldn’t find for themselves a well-reputable media entity to broadcast their propaganda, meaning reputable and credible enough so that the story and the media entity could launch the story without it being paid as an advertisement on their editorial page, they had to resort to their usual tactic courtesy of none other than the INC’s PR Department.

Here are some of their most glamorous publications:

But, since Tabloids and small publications like these only reach a handful of viewership, EVM’s PR Team sought the help of another INC-member, Don Orosco.

For the benefit of the readers, I would like to present to the discerning public, Mr. Augusto “Don” Orozco’s profile as acclaimed by no other than himself:

My name is Augusto Orozco. Friends and acquaintances call me Don.

I am a licensed Notary Public in the State of California doing mobile notary service 
I am International News Correspondent for Philippine TV Net25 (www.eaglenews.ph)
I am Bureau Chief for Silicon Valley of Filipino American newspaper(sf-post.com)
I am PRO for the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Santa Clara County

A Snapshot:

Having been licensed and commissioned by the California Secretary of State as Notary Public, I have helped several clients of Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America and Chase Bank to notarize Certification of Trust, Special Power of Attorney, Home Equity Line of Credit and Mortgage loans.

I have continued to notarized public documents that need authentication for the last 8 years.

As a Public Relations practitioner, I as a person always ensure that a WIN/WIN situation can always be attained. I talk and people listen. I have been compassionate and always is cautious on the result of my actions.

My extended experience in banking and as a public relations practitoner, has prepared me to embrace my other passion which is public communications. I have been in broadcast media for more than 10 years now from preparing news items (english and tagalog) providing the latest news and the hottest items available. I have experienced both radio and TV, a set skill that made me more effective to connect people.

I may have left the Philippines for more than a decade now, but I still remain to be in great contact with the top brass of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Exporters Confederation and the Philippines, Incorporated.

As a Columnist and News writer here in California, I have been involved in a lot of Community Service working with the Santa Clara County Sheriff Office, Santa Clara County Supervisors, Congressman Mike Honda, Story Road Business Association, Lions Club Int’l & the FilAm Chamber.

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the INC’s newest champion, let’s see him in action, shall we? And in reading this letter of Mr. Don Orozco to the editor of this publication, please examine, with all objectivity, the presence or lack thereof, of journalistic ethics, truthfulness, fairness, impartiality and balanced reporting. Here’s Mr. Orozco in his all-out effort to project himself as a journalist:

This article was published by an online publication based in Vancouver, Canada called ReyFort (Rey Fortaleza) Media Group.

Now, I must confess that I am no journalist. These people claim that they are, so in order to fully understand “Journalism” in its truest form, I tried to find out what journalism really is.

Seek Truth and Report It

Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.

Journalists should:

– Take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify information before releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible. 

– Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy. 

– Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing or summarizing a story. 

– Gather, update and correct information throughout the life of a news story. 

– Be cautious when making promises, but keep the promises they make. 

– Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources. 

– Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity was granted. 

– Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing. 

– Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public. 

– Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable. Give voice to the voiceless. 

– Support the open and civil exchange of views, even views they find repugnant. 

– Recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government. Seek to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open, and that public records are open to all. 

– Provide access to source material when it is relevant and appropriate. 

– Boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience. Seek sources whose voices we seldom hear. 

– Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting. 

– Label advocacy and commentary. 

– Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information. Clearly label illustrations and re-enactments. 

– Never plagiarize. Always attribute. 

Source: https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

So if these are the foundation and basis of ethical journalists, then what do you call practitioners who have absolutely no respect for these principles?

Disappointingly, ReyFort Media Group did not practice balanced and fair journalism when they deliberately failed to contact Mr. Lowell Menorca and Mr. Rovic Canono for their side of the story to ensure impartiality and truthfulness of the story that they are publishing. It’s highly questionable that the information that Mr. Orozco paraded in his letter were verified, and if it were then it reflects very poorly on the kind of verification protocols that these so-called journalists are undertaking just for a quick story. Only after the fact that the story has been published and after Mr. Menorca contacted the said publication did the media group requested for Mr. Menorca’s side of the story. Unfortunately, due to ReyFort’s numerous demands to re-edit the letter due to length constraints, the letter was never published.

This blog site has been viewed more than 10 Million times in the past 3 years (including after being hacked and shut down by the INC’s IT Group – ACTIV). I consider it my ethical duty to adhere to the truth and present evidence and stories of both sides. I have presented you with Don Orozco’s rendition of the “facts”, now here’s the other side of the story as revealed by Mr. Menorca in his letter to the Editor in chief of ReyFort Media Group that was never published.

Dear Editor,

This is a response to an article that was released in your editorial page against me and Rovic Canono, both Philippine-based Canadian Refugees wherein contributor Don Orozco attacked us and the Canadian government, specifically the Immigration Refugee Board. 

Don Orozco, who introduced himself in his LinkedIn account as an International  Correspondent for Net 25 (Iglesia Ni Cristo-owned), an INC member, a public notary and deputized Sheriff of Santa Clara County, was not only irresponsible and biased but insulted the capacity of the Canadian government, its Immigration and Refugee Board, and Law Enforcement agencies to make sound decisions regarding its Refugee Claimants.

He claimed I “fled in 2016 due to numerous court cases” but deliberately failed to mention that those cases were filed by the leaders and members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo who persecuted us for being whistleblowers of the publicized corruption under its current Executive Minister, Eduardo V. Manalo. Numerous orchestrated libel cases were filed in different parts of the Philippines against us as punishment for exposing this institution.

Eduardo V. Manalo and his Council Ministers faced public scrutiny regarding alleged corrupt practices when his brother, Angel Manalo, criticized the building of the Philippine Arena as a waste of Church resources. During the time of their father, Eraño G. Manalo, the INC took pride in its transparent finances and the absolute absence of debts and mortgages from any bank in the Philippines and abroad. The church focused on the spirituality of its members instead of commercialism. The church has not denied the alleged billion-peso bank loans, yet, they silence anyone who exposes it by any means. The murders of some had circumstantial evidence linking the INC to the victims, all critics of the church and supporters of Bro. Angel Manalo and they were all part of my testimony to the IRB. EVM allows INC members to vilify his expelled mother and siblings in social media along with those they deem as enemies of the church. One need not be a theologian to clearly see the disparity between this EVM-centric culture and that taught by the Lord Jesus Christ who preached about compassion, mercy, and love even towards his enemies.

The lavish lifestyles of EVM and his council ministers also came into question for owning luxurious mansions and vehicles and flying on a private Airbus A330 during his pastoral visits abroad.

I left the country due to a threat to our life,  specifically my then 2-year old daughter. I was fighting a court battle (Writ of Habeas Corpus and Writ of Amparo accepted in the Supreme Court) after having been kidnapped, led by high-ranking officials of the church and church-influenced law enforcement officers of the Quezon City Police. I was imprisoned in Dasmariñas Cavite with trumped-up charges then illegally detained with my family in the INC Central compound heavily guarded by armed men for more than three months. Getting true justice in a country where this church’s power and influence reign in every facet of government agencies, including the media is next to impossible. Some officials are either church members or placed in power by the bloc-voting INC and like Don Orozco, use their influence and position, combine their personal, work and religious affiliation to sway public perception through the media- practices that are unethical and a conflict of interest. 

It is easy to file all kinds of charges in the Philippines in order to silence critics- libel, rape, adultery, obstruction of justice, murder, you name it and they filed it against us, all in an effort to humiliate us into submission and to threaten others that they too will suffer the same fate once they speak up. We were not convicted of any crime, but staying in the country was a matter of life and death. Upon a thorough investigation of more than one year, the IRB panel concluded that the INC “is motivated by a vendetta” and has “both the means and the motivation to seriously harm or kill” me should I return to the Philippines. Contrary to Don Orozco’s biased and personally motivated statements, the Canadian government and it’s highly credible agencies, did their due diligence before releasing a decision.

Rovic Canono’s case, and lately my Mother’s, Fredisminda Menorca also received protected refugee status. The IRB does not just base their decisions on “FB Posts” as bluntly accused by Don Orozco. The IRB received numerous unsolicited materials from INC members and whoever wished to submit their opposition which further proved the persecution from church leaders and members against us. In this safe haven, we can continue to fight against the people who committed crimes such as kidnapping, attempted murder, grave threat, and illegal detention. 

INC lawyer and minister, Rommel San Pedro was also sent to Canada from the INC US Main Office and gave the Church’s Official statement to the media. They were in fact, given every opportunity and they exhausted every effort to present their counter-evidence.

INC minister, Marlon Guinto (who claimed he was a relative of Rommel San Pedro) was also a witness against me. He (being my first cousin) claimed he had first-hand knowledge about me. He later admitted that the information he had was furnished to him by Rommel San Pedro. The judge easily saw through their deceit and stated that “their testimony was ridiculous”. 

Don Orozco also maliciously accused us of “leaving our families unattended in other countries” and “living the high life”- statements not befitting a public servant as a deputized Sheriff. They show a lack of ethics, compassion and are inhumane against families separated due to human rights abuses by the institution that he fanatically defends. We hope that the Canadian government will see this as another attempt to stump the legal processes of getting our families here. 

Don Orozco’s also invites the readers “to report us to the Canadian government” and I hope you do so you can hear the truth for yourselves that the Canadian government is competent in granting refuge and protection in the name of humanity, love, and compassion.

When a religion begins to teach you to hate others, it’s time to re-examine your religion.

Lowell R. Menorca II
Human Rights Advocate
INC Whistleblower