MANILA- Members of a non secular company accused of masterminding a multi-million peso funding rip-off have invoked the separation of the church and state after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered its closure.
Decrying the crackdown on the Kapa-Community Ministry International workplaces, members of the group declare that the closure order is a kind of harassment.
Their chief, Pastor Joel Apolinario, in the meantime refused to surrender to authorities regardless of an ongoing manhunt towards him, and has pleaded to the authorities to permit their company to renew operations.
Under the 1987 Constitution, it’s the state’s coverage that the “separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”
This coverage is additional supported in the Bill of Rights enshrined in the constitution which bars the state from establishing any faith and from conducting any non secular take a look at for the train of one’s civil rights:
“No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.”
But is the authorities allowed to manage a non secular group as soon as it enters into enterprise or registers itself as a company?
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, dean of the San Beda Graduate School of Law, clarified Tuesday {that a} non secular sect turns into topic to authorities regulation as soon as it conducts actions topic to authorities regulation.
“While it is true that every religion and the members of a religious sect are free to exercise their religion, the moment they engage in certain activities that are government-regulated, they have to submit to government regulations,” he advised radio DZMM.
“The moment we set up cooperatives, the moment we put up corporations, the moment we engage in micro-finance eh talagang dapat sundin ang mga batas ng estado (we should really follow state policies),” he stated.
The state, nonetheless, can’t regulate a gaggle or individual’s perception.
“The freedom of religion in so far as the concern is belief, is absolute. You can believe anything that you want to. But the moment that you commit an overt act based on your religion, that will be subject to state supervision,” Aquino stated.
He cited as instance the Catholic Church’s freedom in holding plenty, novenas and different non secular actions.
Aquino defined {that a} non secular company conducting actions which are usually regulated by the authorities, can’t invoke the separation of church and state to evade regulation.
“You cannot use the separation of church and state to say na hindi na dapat sumunod sa mga alituntunin ng pamahalaan,” he stated.
(You can’t use the separation of church and state to say that you shouldn’t obey authorities coverage.)
