ABS-CBN journalist and Iglesia ni Cristo member Anthony Taberna and his wife, Rossel. PHOTO by Aries Joseph Hegina/INQUIRER.net
ABS-CBN journalist Anthony Taberna on Sunday announced that he will take a temporary leave of absence from his programs in the broadcast giant to avoid conflict of interest in reporting amid an ongoing protest of Iglesia ni Cristo members at Edsa-Shaw in Mandaluyong City.
In a Facebook post, Taberna said that he will not be able to air out credible opinions on issues surrounding the protest action of the INC in his programs as he is a church member.
“Mga kapamilya, napakalungkot po na nagpapaalam po muna ako sa programa namin na Dos por Dos at Umagang Kay Ganda dahil sa mga kaganapan po ngayon. Ako po bilang aktibong miyembro ng Iglesia ni Cristo ay nasa isang sitwasyon na hindi maaaring maging credible sa pagtalakay sa isyung may kinalaman dito,” Taberna said.
“Mayroon po akong paniniwalang pangrelihiyon at mayroon din naman akong tungkulin bilang mamamahayag, bagay na hindi po maaaring pagsamahin ngayon dahil sa tinatawag na conflict of interest,” he added.
Taberna said the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs management immediately allowed his leave of absence from today until the INC issue settles down.
“Maraming salamat po sa inyong pang-unawa sa aking napakahirap na kalagayan sa ngayon. Sa mga hindi naman hindi makakaunawa, nauunawaan ko po kayo,” he added.
Hours before his post on social media, Taberna and his wife, Roselle, spoke before more than a thousand INC members who gathered at the intersection of Edsa and Shaw boulevard Sunday noon.
He said that the protesters, who are asking the Department of Justice to stop the investigation on the alleged kidnapping of some church ministers, were not forced to attend the rally.
Now on their fourth day of protest, INC members were criticizing Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for supposedly meddling with internal affairs of their church.
The protesters transferred from the Department of Justice compound in Padre Faura, Manila to Edsa on Friday evening, paralyzing the traffic along the major thoroughfare.
Calling for a separation of church and state, INC protester said De Lima should focus on “more important issues” instead of prioritizing the illegal detention case filed by dismissed INC minister Isaias Samson against the church leadership. Yuji Vincent Gonzales and Aries Joseph Hegina, INQUIRER.net
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