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Pastor tagged as communist supporter arrested over firearms in Bohol

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Annie Perez, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/06/25/nathaniel-vallente-bernales-pastor-dodo.jpg"/><figcaption>Nathaniel Vallente Bernales, also known as Pastor Dodo, was arrested around 3am in his house at Purok 5, Barangay San Jose. <em>Courtesy of Help TV Cebu</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — A pastor who police claim to be a &quot;supporter of the communist movement&quot; was arrested in a raid inside his Mabini, Bohol residence, early Friday. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/multimedia/slideshow/06/05/21/church-red-tagging">Mission in peril: ‘Red-tagging’ the religious sector in the Philippines</a></li></ul><p>Nathaniel Vallente Bernales, also known as Pastor Dodo, was arrested around 3 a.m. in his house at Purok 5, Barangay San Jose. Police stormed his home by virtue of a search warrant. </p><p>The same method of serving search warrants at dawn raids was used on 2 dozen activists in the Calabarzon region leading to the so-called “Bloody Sunday” incident in March, where 9 progressive leaders were killed and several others arrested. </p><p>Police said their search yielded 4 .45 caliber pistols, 4 magazines for the firearm, live ammunition, and empty bullets. They also allegedly found a hand grenade and a bag which contained &quot;subversive documents.&quot;</p><p>Bernales is a minister for the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and a program coordinator for Bohol of the Farmers Development Center (FARDEC).</p><p>But according to police reports, the pastor is a member of the Tabada Crime Group who are engaged in gun running activities in Bohol. They were also said to be a supporter of the communist movement.</p><p>But FARDEC said the allegations against the pastor are not true and that he is an active councilor of their peasant community called &quot;Nagkahiusang Mag-Uuma sa San Jose.&quot;</p><p>&quot;This newest incident of attack on FARDEC staff impedes our operations toward truly eradicating poverty and hunger among farmers in Central Visayas. We call for their immediate release,&quot; said Marianne Tagalo of FARDEC.</p><p>Human rights group Karapatan likewise condemned the incident and said the arrest was part of a crackdown against UCCP.</p><p>&quot;Church workers from the UCCP have been arrested in recent months such as Pastor Benjie Gomez and Pastor Dan Balucio, as well as the trumped-up charges against Bishop Hamuel Tequis and Rev. Daniel Palicte, and the freezing of the bank accounts of the UCCP Haran Center in Davao,&quot; Karapatan said in a statement. </p><p>The pastor is currently detained at the Mabini Police Station in Bohol and is scheduled to be charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.</p><p>The police has been accused of &quot;weaponizing&quot; search warrants against human rights defenders and other alleged critics of the government. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/09/21/weaponized-search-warrants-in-bloody-sunday-killings-put-pressure-on-supreme-court-to-act-to-prevent-bloodshed">‘Weaponized’ search warrants in ‘Bloody Sunday’ killings put pressure on Supreme Court to act to prevent bloodshed</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1713998" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>A pastor whom police claimed to be a "supporter of the communist movement" was arrested in a middle of the night raid inside his Mabini, Bohol residence Friday. </p>

A pastor whom police claimed to be a "supporter of the communist movement" was arrested in a middle of the night raid inside his Mabini, Bohol residence Friday.

Pastor tagged as communist supporter arrested over firearms in Bohol

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Pastor tagged as communist supporter arrested over firearms in Bohol

Annie Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 25, 2021 04:38 PM PHT

Read More:

Bohol

Bohol raid

red tagging

search warrant. police raid

terrorism

United Church of Christ in the Philippines

Karapatan

Farmers Development Center

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