RGS celebrates nun’s acquittal from Esperon’s perjury charges
THE Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS) congregation lauded the acquittal of their confrere, Sr. Elenita Belardo, from perjury charges, calling it a victory “for God’s little ones.”
“The recent court decision is a glimmer of hope amid the dark times our nation is living in,” said the RGS Philippines-japan Province in a statement.
“The acquittal is not only a victory of those accused but of all ‘God’s little ones’ for whom and with whom this struggle is being fought and continued,” it said.
A Quezon City court, on January 9, acquitted Belardo and nine other human rights activists of perjury charges filed by former National Security Adviser, Hermogenes Esperon Jr, in 2019.
The 83-year-old nun is the former national director of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP).
The RGS said Belardo is “a gentle follower of Christ,” who had been working with the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized “and in doing so caught the ire of the mighty and powerful.”
“She has inspired us with her faith, courage and unwavering commitment to the farmers, fisherfolks and indigenous peoples, whom she untiringly served through the RMP all these years,” it added.
The congregation also reaffirmed their commitment “to promote justice” and to “help bring about change in whatever condemns others to live a marginalized life.”
“In the spirit of synodality, along with fellow church workers and human rights defenders, we continue walking with and among the poor, listening to and including voices from the margins and holding our ground despite threats and political repression,” it said.
A Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court in the capital Manila acquitted the activists after the prosecution failed to establish “beyond reasonable doubt” that the accused “made a willful and deliberate assertion of a falsehood,” Licas News said in its report earlier.
Found not guilty besides Belardo were women rights activists Gertrudes Libang and Joan Salvador; and human rights advocates Cristina Palabay, Elisa Lubi, Roneo Clamor, Edita Burgos, OCDS, Wilfredo Ruazol, Gabriela Krista Dalena and Jose Mari Callueng.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Esperon who claimed that leaders of the RMP, human rights group Karapatan and women’s group Gabriela lied in their petition for a “writ of amparo” before the Supreme Court.
Esperon—who was a respondent in the amparo petition— accused the activists of calling RMP a “registered nonstock, nonprofit organization” even as the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly revoked the organization’s certificate of registration in 2003, Licas News said.
The Quezon City prosecutor’s office initially indicted Belardo.
Esperon later appealed and included the other activists in the charge.