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Plumb Line A Primer on Understanding the PGCAG Crisis A Call to Uphold the Constitution and By Laws of PGCAG

Plumb Line

A Primer on Understanding the PGCAG Crisis |

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It is possible that, before reading this document, you already have

been given information about the present crisis in the AG. And that

this set of information has actually shaped your conviction. However,

will you:

Pray to God for discernment; read with wisdom not just with

emotions.

Uphold what is just and truth as this honors God.

As there has been a number of documents issued from both camps

and there have been so many recent developments, this material

focuses on (1) The validity of the suspension of DAS, (2) the illegitimacy

of the actions taken by some members of the BOT, and (3) concrete

plans of actions for those who adhere to RCalusay and JSuico as the

only remaining legitimate executive officers of PGCAG.

SECTIONS

SECTION 1 : The Suspension Page 3 SECTION 2: The Actions of the BOT Page 5

SECTION 3: Where Do We Go From Here Page 14

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Section 1: THE SUSPENSION What were the charges leveled against DAS

Not only this, but there are also two precedence that the PGCAGCC conducted investigation and disciplinary proceedings against members of the Executive Presbytery in

the past, one of those was when DAS was also suspended for 6 months for

falsifying his Filipino passport. Were the charges clear violations of the CBL “Occasions sometimes arise which make it necessary to deal with affiliated ministers who for some reasons have reached the possible grounds and basis for disciplinary actions are: declared open change of doctrinal views and Pentecostal standards; violations of ministerial courtesy and ethics; divisiveness, a non cooperative spirit, insubordination, immorality, rumor-mongering, habitual and reproachable debt, moral turpitude, marriage in opposition to PGCAG constitutional position and other unscriptural practices and conduct” - (CBL, Art. XVI, Sec.11, Par.1) Who handled the case Our CBL : states that “where offense is directly against the PGCAG executives, principles or practices of the PGCAG, the PGCAG Credential Committee (GCC) shall have the authority to deal with the minister directly. On appeal, the action taken subject to the review by the General Presbytery”. – (CBL, Art. XVI, Sec. 10, Par. 7)

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“the PGCAG Credentials Committee shall have the right to initiate disciplinary proceedings. Decisions arrived at the Credentials Committee shall become binding and executory unless it is appealed to the General Presbytery for review and the decision of the GP shall be final” – (CBL, Art. X, Sec. 4, Par. 5) Who comprise the GCC? The Executive Presbyter comprises the officers of the PGCAGCC . “The Executive Presbytery consists of the Executive officers of the PGCAG: General Superintendent/President, Assistant General Superintendent/ Vice President, General/Corporate Secretary, General/Corporate Treasurer, plus the elected District Superintendent of the District Council that includes Metro Manila. The Chairman of the US Assemblies of God missionary fellowship shall become ex-officio member.” –(CBL, Art. X, Sec. 4, Par. 1 & 3) From this we can count the number of people comprising the PGCAGCC to 6 officers. But since AGMF has already relinquished their seat in the Executive Presbytery, the number narrows down to 5. Why GCC instead of the GP? The General Credential Committee is the rightful body to handle the case as provided by the CBL. The reason for being provided by the CBL is “the offense is directly against the PGCAG executives. Also, the CBL foresees a possibility of appeal that should have been direction to the General Presbytery (GP)? Our CBL : states that “where offense is directly against the PGCAG executives, principles or practices of the PGCAG, the PGCAG Credential Committee (GCC) shall have the authority to deal with the minister directly. On appeal, the action taken subject to the review by the General Presbytery”. – (CBL, Art. XVI, Sec. 10, Par. 7) Was there due process?

1. GCC: sent letter to DAS on August 20, 2010 for a preliminary hearing 2. DAS: did not attend the meeting and instead sent a 7 page letter of appeal to all district superintendents 3. GCC: sent a second letter on September 20, 2010 to DAS to personally explain the 6 issues raised against him 4. DAS: appeared before GCC on October 8, 2010 to explain his side. 5. GCC: suspended DAS on January 4, 2011 for not less than 2 years and also suspended from his position as

Assistant General Supt. Was the decision of the GCC unanimous? Having made the decision to file charges against DAS it would be obvious to say that the PGCAGGCC were already in agreement that the charges against DAS had merit otherwise why continue the filing of the charges if they were not in agreement? From August 12, 2010 to January 4, 2011, any officers of the PGCAGCC could have raised a voice of disagreement if there were any irregularity with the charges against DAS. There weren’t any and so, on January 4, 2011 the decision to suspend DAS was made final by the PGCAG CC. DAS also failed to appeal his case before the GP during the 6 months period. It was only after JB’s resignation on June 2, 2011 that JB alleged that the decision to suspend DAS was not unanimous. JB’s claim is very questionable under these circumstances: why wait 10 months to complain and contest that the decision was not unanimous? He has all the time to contest the PGCAGCC case and the subsequent verdict on January 4, 2011 since he was still a member of the GCC at the time the charges and the judgment was made.

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And supposing that JB did not agree to the suspension, the decision to suspend DAS was still official and valid since the decision was still made by the majority members of the GCC. The decision reached by the credential committee need not to be unanimous to be valid. But to be valid and binding it has to have quorum and must be the decision of the majority. Even if JB says he did not agree, the majority decision of members of the PGCAGCC is enough to validate and make the suspension binding.—(CBL, Art. XVI, Sec.11, Par. 5a)

SECTION 2: ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE BOT The role of the BOT members in this issue is critical. Why is it improper for DAS to ask for the help of the BOT? It is stated very clearly in the CBL that the GP is the judicial body where appeals can be lodged when a question arise concerning the discipline of our ministers. The BOT, under our CBL, does not have the mandate and power to recall suspension of any of its members, overturn decisions made by the PGCAGCC nor it is allowed to make judicial decisions.—(CBL, Art. Sec.5 Par. 6)

During the Leadership and Management Institute (LAMI) meeting on January 27-28, 2011, a letter of appeal was circulated by DAS to the DSs. However, the BOT, at that time ruled to follow the CBL and let the GP handle the appeal.

Note: As per GP Chairman Peter Banzon’s letter, he testified that no appeal was forwarded to the GP by DAS.

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Who comprise the BOT? The BOT is composed of 15 members. The duly elected members of the BOT in 2009 in Cebu are as follows:

Rey Calusay Dave Sobrepena Joseph Suico Jerry Balbuena Gerry Cruz Elpie Taboclaon Jose Estrebilla Gerry Cabajes Esther Cebuala Conrado Lumahan Walter Caput Cruz Lapura Joel Mendoza Emmanuel Basilio Lorenzo Panaguiton

Changes in the composition of BOT One of the critical points of this crisis is the changing composition of the BOT. The changes are very crucial considering that a decision is final once approved by the majority of the Board Members (NOTE: THE DECISION OF ONE BOARD MEMBER IS NOT THE DECISION OF WHOLE BOARD). Consider the following changes:

Total Number of BOT Members: 13 Majority Vote: 7

1. Rey Calusay 1. Elpedio Taboclaon

2. Joseph Suico 2. Gerry Cabajes

3. Gerry Cruz 3. Conrado Lumahan

4. Jose Estrebilla 4. Cruz Lapura

5. Esther Cebuala 5. Emmanuel Basilio

6. Walter Caput 6. Lorenzo Panaguiton

7. Joel Mendoza 7. Dave Sobrepena

Suspended effective January 15, 2011

8. Jerry Balbuena Resigned on June 2, 2011

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BOT members who lifted DAS Suspension June 21, 2011(Cagayan de Oro)- a supposed BOT meeting signed by 7 BOT members resolved to “reverse the decision of the PGCAG Credential Committee. The suspension…is hereby lifted, recalled and set aside.”

Irregularities of the June 21 Meeting UNOFFICIAL MEETING. For a meeting to be an official BOT meeting, the President thru the Secretary must be the one to call for it. All the BOT members must be informed even if they could not attend the meeting. However, the BOT meeting lacks these requirements. Only 7 BOT members out of the 13 remaining members were informed. —(CBL, Art.10, Sec.2, Par.5). BASILIO ABSENT. It is important to note however, that Emmanuel Basilio was actually absent during the said meeting. This makes the actual number of attendance to only 6 BOT members. If Emmanuel Basilio was absent, how come his signature can be found in the document?

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Esther Cebuala’s Testimony: “meeting… ILLEGAL & UNOFFICIAL!”

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Why the June 21 Meeting is Illegal

1. “Just a Maxwell Conference meeting”. It WAS NOT advertised as BOT meeting. 2. To “review” not to “lift, recall and set aside the suspension.” 3. Only 5 BOT Members were in agreement: NO QUROM 4. If Esther Cebuala now contest the said BOT resolution, then the number consenting to it is now down to only 5

BOT members. This makes the resolution invalid for lack of quorum aside from the fact that it was unofficial in the first place and of the deceit and manipulation present.

The Two Camps: Members of the Board of Trustees on the Two Sides of the Fence Legitimate BOT Composition

Total Number of BOT Members: 13 Majority Vote: 7






6. Walter Caput 6. Lorenzo

Panaguiton

7. Joel Mendoza 7. Dave Sobrepena

Suspended effective January 15, 2011

8. Jerry Balbuena Resigned on June 2, 2011

Only 5 BOT Members / No Quorum Therefore, DAS is still suspended

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BOT members who are on DAS side (Note: from this on, these BOT members will be referred to as BOT-DAS to distinguish it from the 2009 BOT Members) “ACTING” Members of DAS-BOT

Supposed to be suspended by DAS on August 10, 2011






6. Walter Caput 6. Lorenzo

Panaguiton

7. Joel Mendoza 7. Dave Sobrepena Suspension “LIFTED”

8. Jerry Balbuena Reinstated

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BOT-DAS appointed “ACTING” members Irregularities of the BOT-DAS

1. DAS still suspended. Since the June 21 meeting is an ILLEGAL meeting, the lifting of suspension is still ILLEGAL. 2. JB already resigned. If JB has resigned, why did the BOT-DAS reinstated him right away?

a. Was there an investigation done before he was reinstated? b. JB’s slot in the 2009 BOT is because of his being the Gen. Treas. Why was he still a member of BOT-DAS

when Carlos Gulane is already the Acting Gen. Treas of the BOT-DAS? c. JB is assigned the Office Manager of BOT-DAS? Does that entitle him a slot in the DAS-BOT? Was he

immediately reinstated to the BOT-DAS because of his access to bank records as former Gen. Treas? d. What was the reason for JB’s resignation? Compare his reason from his letter of resignation and from

his request to be reinstated:

Note: JB accused RC and JS of diverting funds. There are available documents refuting this including a letter from the leaders of RC’s church.

Supposed to be suspended by DAS on August 10, 2011






6. Walter Caput 6. Lorenzo Panaguiton

7. Joel Mendoza 7. Dave Sobrepena Suspension “LIFTED”

8. Jerry Balbuena Reinstated in BOT but assigned as Office Manager

9. Felipe Acena Acting Gen Sec

10. Carlos Gulane Acting Gen. Treas

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ILLEGAL ACTIONS OF THE BOT-DAS Failed attempt to take over PGCAG Headquarters In effect, DAS’ suspension remains legally effective and un-lifted. Despite this gross violation of CBL, DAS attempt to take over PGCAG headquarters in Valenzuela City in order to legitimize his power had failed since he does not have legal right and moral authority to lead the entire organization. The Valenzuela headquarters is still occupied by our legitimate leaders. Changing the General Information Sheet in SEC and Bank signatories

Redirecting Credential Renewals to WOH address And Setting up New Bank Account for funds/tithes redirection It should be noted that they opened a new bank account since all the legitimate PGCAG bank accounts have been

frozen due to pending investigation concerning the fraud and fake resolutions that changed the SEC and bank signatories. Fortunately, the freezing of the accounts worked against DAS’ plan to use the PGCAG money as leverage.

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XXXXXXXXXXX

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SECTION 3: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? The path to reconciliation

Reconciliation is possible on the assumption that DAS and BOT-DAS admit to all their illegal actions.

With reference to the original letter of suspension of DAS, the following has to be undertaken

WHY GS REY AND GSEC SUICO WILL NOT RESIGN AND SHOULD NOT RESIGN? 1. They are the legitimate and duly elected executive leaders as well as BOT members of the PGCAG mandated to

protect the organization from the attempt of Dave Sobrepena to illegally takeover the leadership of PGCAG. 2. To resign their positions at this moment would tantamount to dereliction of duty considering the present crisis facing

the PGCAG at the moment. 3. It will be morally wrong to resign for them at this time.

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4. They represent the MAJORITY OF PGCAG MINISTERS IN A CONCERTED STAND TO DEFEND AND PROTECT THE PGCAG FROM THE IMMORAL ACTIONS OF DAVE SOBREPENA.

5. AS IT IS THEIR LEADERSHIP WATCH AT THIS TIME, IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO SEE TO IT THAT THE NEXT SET OF

LEADERS TO LEAD THE PGCAG WILL HAVE THE SPIRITUAL AND MORAL INTEGRITY AND CHARACTER TO LEAD THE PGCAG.

Note: should the members of the council desire to change leadership, the proper process would have been to wait for the election which is set on May 2012. Let us refrain from taking unconstitutional and ungodly means to place people in leadership. WHY NEUTRALITY IS NOT AN OPTION

1. Everyone should stand by the CBL. 2. Every district serves as the branch of the PGCAG. The district’s main reason-for-being is to enforce the will of

the PGCAG. How can the district do this if it has not recognized the legitimate leadership? 3. To declare neutrality is to accept the position that BOTH are right. Clearly, there were violations committed that

should be rectified. 4. Clearly, the NEUTRAL stand is a clear ploy to disregard the legitimacy of RC and JS.

The STDC has declared its neutrality in the guise of protecting its own self. Again, let it be reiterated that all districts are branches of the PGCAG. It must align with the legitimate, and remaining, members of the General executives. On the other hand, there were instances that showed the district has never been neutral:

1. While STDC is declaring unity, two presbyters have welcomed DAS in their respective sectional Christmas Party, even addressing him as the “Acting General Superintendent”

2. When the officers of STDC, sectional officers included, convened on November 2011 in Tagaytay, they agreed to be NEUTRAL yet ALSO agreed to make a MANIFESTO asking that the executives would resign. THIS IS NOT NEUTRALITY.

LEGAL OPTIONS? The moves of the BOT-DAS are clear violation of the laws of the land aside from breaching trust among brothers/ministers. Now, there has to be a court order to unfreeze the PGCAG bank accounts and to declare the official PGCAG because BOT-DAS filed an illegal General Information Sheet in the SEC. RENEWALS AND REMITTANCES Direct your renewal forms and remittances to PGCAG office in Malinta. If the district does not direct the renewal to the PGCAG, you can fill-out a new form. If payment is made, just attach a copy of your receipt.

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From the Legitimate General Superintendent Rev. Rey Calusay

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Plumb Line - WordPress.comPlumb Line A Primer on Understanding the PGCAG Crisis | 2 It is possible that, before reading this document, you already have been given information about