IFI, ICFI bring war to court

The country’s first and oldest independent church, the Aglipayan Church, has asked a Manila Court to stop a faction from using its name, an offshoot of 19 years of bickering about who is the rightful Obispo Maximo or Supreme Bishop.

In a petition for injunction, preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, The Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), asked the court to prevent its rival from using the name Iglesia Catolica Filipina Independiente (ICFI), a variation of its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-registered name.

The Aglipayan Church was founded in 1902 by a former Roman Catholic priest, Gregorio Aglipay, who decided to organize an independent Church after the Vatican refused to recognize the Philippine Revolutionary government.

Aside from the injunction, the IFI is also seeking more than P6 million in damages and attorney’s fees.

IFI said the founder of the splinter group, former IFI Supreme Bishop Macario Ga, had reconciled with their Bishop Alberto Ramamento, before the latter’s term ended in 1999 and who was succeeded by Bishop Tomas Millamena. Under the IFI’s 1977 Constitution, a Supreme Bishop has a term of six years without reelection. – Jose Aravilla