CA dismisses P5.4-M UCCP damage suit vs Arroyo
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2018 09:15:31 +0000
MRS. Arroyo
The Court of Appeals has dismissed the P5.4-million damage suit filed by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines against former President now House Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo for alleged besmirched reputation and the killings of its pastors and members in 2005 and 2006.
In a decision released last week, the CA affirmed the order of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court which junked the complaint for damages on Mrs. Arroyo’s demurrer to evidence – an act of seeking the dismissal of the charges based on the alleged lack of evidence presented by the prosecution.
The civil complaint was filed by the UCCP through its general secretary and executive officer Bishop Reuel Norman Marizaga and the surviving parents or espouses of six church pastors and members allegedly killed in connection with the military’s “Oplan: Bantay Laya,” an anti-insurgency campaign.
It alleged that under the insurgency campaign, the UCCP was tagged by the military as a sectoral front organization for the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Thus, UCCP alleged that its leaders and members became the military’s “targets of extrajudicial killings.” (Rey G. Panaligan)