(Part of a series)

Part II: A false prophet is born

Eli Soriano

Eli was sickly, there was something wrong with his heart and this was complicated by bouts of asthma. But Eli has a more troubling disease that would hound him later in his life. The disease was his overwhelming need to borrow money. The late 60′s was the year where he found himself owing about P10, 000.00 from different people. He needed his brother’s help to bail him out of his trouble. To support his growing need for money, while still a minister of his church he turned to cooking food to sell. His first turo-turo was in Sampaloc, Manila. He would go to the market and gather rotting vegetables which market vendors threw away as garbage, and used this to make lumpia which he would then sell for human consumption. He boasted that this was a great idea because he had a his profit margins were high. Aside from his lumpia, he also started selling other things, including women’s bras and panties. On top of this, he also tended to raising chickens and pigs in their own back yard.

By 1970 Soriano had established 20 local congregations in Pampanga. He was entrusted by Perez to write lesson because he had good memory and could recall certain verses in the bible. However, he still did not have the authority to baptize members, nor to hold key positions in the organization. Hizon was still the only person who could baptize, debate or otherwise perform key functions aside from Perez himself. When Hizon left the group, Perez appointed Rodolfo Dela Cruz to take Hizon’s place and duties. After Perez’s death, Levita Gugulan was appointed as the leader of the group, Soriano being one of the signatories of the appointment. By this time, Soriano still did not hold any significant position, not even a ministerial position, in the organization and was always relegated to writing lessons even later on in the time of Levita Gugulan. Later, Gugulan would expel Soriano from this organization, which some reports claim was because of homosexuality.

Now without a church, Soriano remained under the radar until 1977 when he registered a new group called Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Saligan ng Katotohanad. This did not escape the notice of Levita Gugulan because, except for the word Saligan, the names were identical. Gugulan’s church filed a lawsuit against Soriano. In 1980, while the suit was still the the courts and in a preemptive move, Soriano registered another group and called it Iglesia ng Dios ka Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Saligan ng Katotohanan sa Bansang Pilipinas, Incorporated.

In 1988, Soriano lost the suit and was ordered to change his organization names to something dissimilar to Gugulan’s group. This would be the first of many instances where Soriano tries to circumvent or violate the law.

In 1993, Gugulan’s successor, Maximo Nieto fount out about the name Soriano registered in 1980, an obvious violation of the court ruling in 1988. Soriano, againt in a preemptive move, registered another name, Bayan ng Katotohanan Incorporated. He was not done. In 1994 while the case filed by Nieto was in progress, Soriano againt registered another name, Iglesia ni YHWH at ni YHWSA HMSYH, Inc.

In 1995, Soriano lost to Nieto and was again ordered to change their name. He lost hsis appeal and had no choice but to use Bayan ng Katotohanan Incorporated and but was not content with the name. He later used , Iglesia ni YHWH at ni YHWSA HMSYH, Inc.

Despite being ordered twice not to use the name of Perez’s group, Soriano still maintains he is the successor to Perez and his was Perez’s original church.

(To be continued…)

O Brother Where Art Thou?

The Life and Times of Eli Soriano

(Part of a series)

Part I: Biography

Eli Soriano

Eliseo Fernando Soriano, Brod Eli to his supporters, was born on April 4, 1947 to parents Triumpo Soriano and Catalina Fernando in Pasay, Rizal. He came from a poor family. He was the seventh of the eight siblings namely Corazon, Remigio, Emiliano, Roberto, Valentin, Narciso and Elizabeth, the youngest. His father was a student of the Philippine Military Academy, hoping to be an officer someday but a few months before graduation got married and did not graduate. When he was born both of his parents where members of the Iglesia ng Dios kay Kristo Hesus, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan where his father was then the General Secretary and Treasurer. This religion was headed by Nicolas Perez. Life was hard for Eli and his family, so much so that his father had to do manual work to get by. To lessen the burden of day to day living, Eli was sent to live with his Auntie Toyang and this is where he grew up. His Auntie was a devout Catholic and taught Eli catholic doctrines including praying to idols and reciting “Ama Namin”. From all indications, Eli grew up without a father figure to guide him. Instead he grew up mainly in the company of women.

Life was hard when Eli and his siblings were young. There were times when they had nothing to eat specially when his parent did not work. At some point his mother was forced to use church funds which resulted in his mother being suspended for 7 years and his father being removed from his position as General Secretary and Treasurer.

Little Eli was timid as a boy. When he was 7 years old, he started elementary school but did not finish because he was overly shy and hides from people so they would not see him. He would do anything to avoid going to school, he even rolled in mud. In 1955, he repeated first grade. He would later claim that he’s first in his class and was valedictorian of the school but he repeated grade six in 1961.He finally started high school and was enrolled at Ramon Magsaysay in Espana, Manila but this too proved hard for him and again did not finish.

Time came which would prove to be a turning point in his life when his father told him to come to a worship service at his father’s church. He initially did not want to go but his father threatened to throw him out of a window which scared him enough to go. He went to Pasay with his father where he heard Nicolas Perez preached. He became interested in the Bible and began reading it. After a short time, he was baptized into his father’s church in Bacoor, Cavite by Filomeno Hizon.

By this time, he wanted so much to be a minister in this new church. He befriended Hizon and through him he was introduced to Perez. He tried his best to be close to Perez until finally he was sent to Bacoor, Cavite. This was his first assignment. He was later sent to Pasay and then to Pampanga. In Pampanga, he met and befriended Renato Dimalanta.

(To be continued…)