From being held captive in jail to being separated from his family for years, Berlin Guerrero’s journey to become an Australian pastor has not been easy.
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Mr Guerrero was ordained on Thursday night at the Emmanuel Uniting and Anglican Church Wodonga after an international effort secured him sanctuary.
His fight to practice his faith began years ago as a young pastor in the Philippines.
“Since I was in university, police agents were already starting to file what I was doing … I was in rallies and demonstrations for human rights,” he said.
“It came to a point where they thought I was more than who I am, they were spectating I was a high ranking member of leftist organisations.”
Mr Guerrero was leaving a memorial service for a fellow member of the Philippines Uniting Church in May 2007 when he was taken captive by corrupt police.
“We were just about a kilometre from the church when two unmarked vans cut our path,” he said.
“Men got out and dragged me into one of the vans … they blind-folded and shackled me and took me to a safe-house.
“They started to hurt me, to torture me … they were doing that the whole night.”
He was held in jail for over a year while his case went through the Supreme Court.
The trumped up charges of murder and sedition against Mr Guerrero were dropped with the support of the Uniting Church and human rights advocacy groups.
“It was my youngest son’s birthday and he said it was his prayer that I could be released,” he said.
Mr Guerrero continued to receive death threats and was offered sanctuary in Australia in 2011, but he had to leave his family behind.
They were reunited three years later when their visas were granted.
To be recognised as a minister in Australia, he studied theology for two years and was offered his first posting in Wodonga.
While it may be quite different from the Philippines, Mr Guerrero and his family have felt welcomed by the community since they arrived on December 3.
“They smile and treat us like anyone else, and for me that’s a good sign of a welcoming community,” he said.
Mr Guerrero wants to build Australia’s partnership with the Philippines, starting on the Border.
“As a Philippino, who is very much involved with justice issues, I always thought of staying on the home-front because that is where the struggle is,” he said.
“I will not stop what I’m doing in the Philippines and I will continue that here in Australia to develop that kind of relationship.”
