Death Threats Alleged for Philippine Whistle Blowers
In the Philippines, child abuse, including the rape of a minor, is a bailable offense.
This morning, thanks to the efforts (and cash) of Tom Randall and his World Harvest Ministries two accused child abusers are out on bail.
The exact nature of the charges against them is unknown at this writing, other than they are related to child abuse issues.
Randall is back in the U.S. soaking up the adulation of his fans, receiving standing ovations from three services at Christ Community Chapel.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, people who have been thought to be whistleblowers have received death threats.
Joe Mauk reported this on Feb 7th;
“Yesterday the principal of the school on the Sankey compound received death threats. She is moving to a safe area today. This morning the teacher, who first informed my daughter of the reports she heard from two of the girls, received a death threat also. We will do our best to aid in her protection. In the meantime high end attorneys arranged by Tom Randall and World Harvest Ministries are trying their best to get the perpetrators released on bail. People have been blaming the problems on a third world country’s propensity towards corruption. Yes but they have it backwards. It is not the ones reporting abuse who have money or influence. There was a network of deceit built up over years around the orphanage operation. I myself was clueless until four months ago, it was so well disguised. Employment is a treasured possession here and many will go along with all kinds of anomalies to keep their employment secure. Even so, there was an exodus of long-term staff from the orphanage in the last three years, some of whom admitted privately they just could not do it any more. Local officials, military, police and social services live on very limited budgets and a few favors, financial and otherwise, sprinkled around have a great effect and can turn aside the view of the ones supposed to be monitoring your activity. By God’s enablement my daughter and her teacher friend who is now being threatened were able to reach the highest levels of law enforcement on these types of cases. This is being handled by them quite professionally but high dollar lawyers do make things more complicated.”
Since then, others who were believed to be part of the ‘conspiracy” have privately reported death threats to me as well and some have gone into hiding.
The narrative on this story is being carefully controlled by Randall and his supporters, the foremost being Joe Coffey of Christ Community Church.
Questions or even prayer requests for the victims expressed on the “Free Tom Randall” Facebook page are deleted and the posters blocked.
The narrative is familiar…there is no problem, there was no abuse, and anyone questioning those assertions has evil motives and is an enemy of the faith.
The people claiming abuse are emotionally and spiritually unstable and have been manipulated by evil doers.
The accused are great servants of God and He will avenge them against the accusers.
Bloggers and the media…well, the devout already know about those devils.
Now facts are hard to come by in this case, but here is one undeniable fact I will testify to.
Not one of the people I’ve corresponded with has expressed anything other than a deep admiration and love for Tom Randall.
There is disappointment over what appears to be misplaced loyalty and an unwillingness to look at all the evidence, but no one has questioned either his character or his work to me.
Let me speak clearly…the fact that this story is following the pattern of every other ecclesiastical cover up of abuse we’ve covered, does not necessarily mean that the same thing is happening in this situation.
It means that because of the lack of transparency and open dialog that questions and doubts remain unanswered and the name and reputation of Chris and his church are again sullied.
No one wants to see innocent people accused or God forbid, convicted.
We should want to show the world that when these issues arise that the church is the first to investigate them openly and honestly in the fear and reverence of God.
We should place the welfare of children over the self interest of institutions and leaders as Christ Himself instructed us.
To do anything less than these two things is to deny the faith we seek to spread and the One whose name we carry.
More coming…
Our previous stories on this situation can be read here and here.
To contact me…phoenixpreacher@gmail.com
Typical Christian* stuff. Typical responses. Same as Calvary Chapel.
The “fruit” is worse than many other people Groups, which should tell you something…but it won’t b/c Christianity* is largely and apologetic based on very weak arguments and appeals to text as “God said!” depending on the Christian* sect you belong to.
I don’t think we have any clue who God is and isn’t and I think Christianity* itself is exhibit A that testifies to this fact.
It is what it is.
Don’t pretend to know, you’re only fooling yourself.
If God is in fact real, you won’t find very much of him or it in most Church constructs…and especially not in its leadership.
RiBo wrote:
I don’t think we have any clue who God is and isn’t…
Really? Here’s a link that shows who God is via Romans 2:12-16 in real life theatre.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/teen-saves-baby-deer_n_4741268.html
” FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF EVIL ” please pray for our country PHILIPPINES not all are corrupt but most are… because of personal interest… children are suffering….. Mr. Tom Randal and your followers how could you bail the abusers and using God’s money?????
Thank you, Michael, for covering these painful stories. The Phillipines are not unique in allowing bail for the suspects of these and worse crimes. One especially horrific case I worked in , where we had lots of physical evidence against the perp of his 7 yo step daughter, he was bailed out by the mother. A horrendously hard process to get a conviction including the wee on having to testify in front of a jury – such bravery, yet I fear even more damage. After the conviction, victim was sent to live with relatives cross country, and after 2 short years the monster was back home in the good graces of his wife, buddies and others WHO BLAMED THE CHILD for taking advantage of him!!!! That those who claim to follow Christ, to have the Holy Spirit inside them, to be heirs to the truth and eternal life, to partake in the same victim blaming, reporter shaming and utter lack of compassion for young lives and reap the support of their thousands of bible buddies, sickens me a such an extreme I can barely breathe through it sometimes. There are proven methods of prevention, but as we were warned as novice social workers, there is no money in prevention – though cheaper than treatment & punishment, those extra expenses AFTER the damage is done lines the pockets of public and private institutions, prisons, lawyers, privatized foster warehouses, etc. If states, counties let us use resources to focus on safety, prevention and early intervention so many young lives could be saved. But that wyould mean less bueracracies, less $$$ that can be made addressing the problems downstream instead of upstream. Arghhhh!
In one commentary I came across recently (too tired to find now) regarding the phenomena of the early church drawing followers to Christ, it was postulated that their success was due mainly because of the early believers care for others in their poverty and need. Recognizing that in that era there were only a few “haves” and multitudes of “have nots” that makes statistical sense. As church history progressed, so many believers were responsible for hospitals, reforms in prisons, mental health, poor houses, slavery on and on. Why is the church impotent now? Because if half the energy and resources that are spent on buildings, books, entertainment disguised as evangelism, the publishing, buying and selling of fluffy make you feel spiritual books, so called christian music, etc etc – if all the time and money spent on maintaining buildings and franchises were invested in meeting people at the point of their greatest need – THAT would be real reformation and revival that might be a beacon of light, a true saving grace for the world. A pox I say on those who use fronts of orphanages, homeless shelters, to line their own pockets and impress their congregations. Don’t even ask me to tell you all how I really feel
My wife and I eat at a local restaurant that has a Philippine waitress that we have gotten to know well over the last five years. This waitress still has family in the Philippines and periodically goes back home to visit them.
She has told us that if you want to get anything done in the Philippines it always takes bribes of cash which always gets results. It is how things are done over there and no one does not participate in some level of the corruption.
She is there now trying to help her family members get a new home constructed after the recent flooding destroyed their family home. She told us that she will have to bribe the proper authorities to be able to complete her task of getting her family in shelter. Everyone involved in the process has their hand out for the extra income beyond the normal fees incurred to build a home.
She accepts this knowing that it is just how things are done in the Philippines. The sums required for the bribes are nominal and not to harsh for the most part, just another tax of sorts.
Knowing this, the truth about what actually has happened with these men may never be brought to light since the Church involved has more then enough cash to bribe those involved it would seem…
Bip, what the waitress is saying is true, however, SHE is most likely not “bribing” officials, but rather paying extortion fees to them. I think there is a huge difference. If someone is first to offer money to persuade a person to do something for them, that is a bribe. However, if someone applies for a building permit and the official says, “I will give it to you, if you buy me a 50 pound bag a rice, or if you give me a certain amount of money,” then that is extortion. (not bribery) That is what so often happens, and is even built into the system, by calling it an “expediting fee” or “handling fee.” When we applied for our first visa renewal, there was a new section that said we needed a “medical” permit , which included blood and stool samples. Of course we knew it had to be done to get our visas. So we collected the needed paper work, and asked what Doctor or lab we were to report to. They sent us down the hall to a desk. We handed in our paper work and the clerk asked if we wanted to expedite it, and we said yes, figuring the sooner we could get our visas, the better. It was an additional $10 and we paid the fee, then expected to see a doctor. Instead, she stamped the paper work and said we now had our medical permits. That was in a government office! The exact thing happened when we got our drivers’ licenses. We needed a medical permit, told to go to the desk, pay the money and got the medical permit! This is built into the system.
It is the rich and powerful that offer bribes and the poor or those without the power that pay extortion.
“It is the rich and powerful that offer bribes and the poor or those without the power that pay extortion.” Exactly.
I am married to a Filipino and I have family and friends in the Philippines. We have built a house there and spend a lot of time there. It is possibe to get things done without paying bribes or fees to help the process along. However, it does take longer. Real estate transactions can be a painful experience. It seems to me they don’t have very good records at times. We are negotiating the system and waiting for results. Something as simple as subdividing family land can take months. There are many Filipinos who hate the corruption. It pains me to see people characterize all Filipinos as corrupt. We have just as much corruption in the US as they do in Philippines.
Gotta get another post up so this guy’s creepy picture does not stare at me when I bring up this site. PRAYING for Things I Think to arrive and save us.
These Men making death threats and putting this WOLF above the welfare of Children are FAKE ASS CHRISTIANS!
BD – yes!
BD,
I’m working on it…
e.Wright, paying bribes vs paying extortion are 2 different things and sadly, it is rare that one can get by in that culture w/o paying extortion, whether knowingly or not . Of course many Filipinos hate it, but sadly it is so ingrained into the system.
C’mon, Michael, think faster. I only get one lunch break. 🙂
Nonnie,
Thank you for the clarification of my semantics. Your story is one that I have heard about anyone wanting to get things done in Argentina as well. I knew a couple who had purchased a big rig truck in the USA and wanted to start a trucking business in Argentina where they planned to move back to (They were Argentina nationals). As long as they gave up enough cash to extended palms things went smoothly. But it still took them three years to accomplish their goal.
Is the Free Tom Randall facebook page deleted…..or did I get blocked for commenting on an earlier blog here??