The Surrogate Church: How a Bloodline Built MCGI’s Throne

New disclosures from a former insider have reignited long-standing allegations that the Members Church of God International (MCGI), a prominent religious organization in the Philippines, is less a biblical congregation than a dynastic empire veiled in theology.

In a livestream aired earlier this week, former MCGI Worker and Razon Family Aide Frederico Pangan or widely known as JR Badong interviewed Felipe Razon, uncle of current church leader Daniel Razon. During the conversation, Felipe confirmed that his brother, Dan Razon (father of Daniel Razon), had romantic encounters with MCGI founder Eli Soriano—a revelation that, if true, offers context for a decades-old pattern of leadership succession cloaked in mystery.

At the center of the story is Beth Soriano Razon, Bro. Eli Soriano’s younger sister and the legal wife of Dan Razon. Though she never held a public role in the church, her presence appears to have been pivotal. According to former insiders and family sources, Beth functioned as the biological bridge for Soriano's Dynasty. She became, in effect, the surrogate mother to the heir of both Eli Soriano and Dan Razon, legitimizing a succession plan that had already been privately arranged long before it was ever presented to the congregation.

What really needs to be understood is this. The key connection wasn’t mainly between Bro. Eli and his nephew Kuya Daniel. It was between Eli Soriano and Dan Razon. Beth didn’t start the bond. She was brought in to solve a problem.

Her marriage to Dan gave everything a more acceptable look. It tied Dan closer to Eli through family, and when Beth gave birth to Daniel, it created the perfect successor, someone with the right last name and bloodline. In short, it wasn’t love or doctrine that shaped MCGI’s future. It was strategy. Beth helped make it all look natural, but behind the scenes, it was all carefully planned.

MCGI is Succession by Blood, Not by Bible

Daniel Razon, known today as Kuya Daniel, is now the Presiding Minister of MCGI. His appointment was presented in the 1990s election that looked more like a cooking show. Critics argue that this “selection” was largely symbolic. In reality, the groundwork for Daniel’s leadership was laid far earlier, through private familial arrangements.

Church observers note that Daniel is not merely a protégé but the product of a deliberate fusion of bloodlines: the son of Eli Soriano’s sister and his alleged romantic partner. This lineage placed Daniel in a unique position to inherit both spiritual authority and control over MCGI’s expansive financial and real estate assets.

“His succession wasn’t discerned, it was designed,” said one former worker, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The doctrines didn’t pick him. The bloodline did.”

Blessed art thou among women

While Beth never held public office within the church nor appeared in doctrinal broadcasts, her role is increasingly understood as pivotal. In effect, she was the biological facilitator of a private pact—one that ensured the Soriano-Razon connection would produce a successor acceptable to conservative followers and credible in public.

Some MCGI Exiters have drawn a comparison between Beth’s position and that of the “cogenitor” character in a Star Trek: Enterprise episode a figure whose existence is reduced to reproductive machine for the continuity of society. Similarly, Beth’s function in the MCGI narrative was not spiritual, but reproductive and symbolic. She enabled the church’s succession to appear natural and divinely ordained, while masking its familial and romantic foundations.

“She was the surrogate of the system,” said another former member. “Not in the medical sense, but in the ideological one. She carried the next leader into the world so the dynasty could continue under the illusion of divine will.”

Beth 2.0

Daniel Razon and his wife, Arlene Razon, have no biological children of their own. They have adopted three children, and Arlene has a daughter from a previous marriage. Despite this, the anticipated next in line to MCGI’s leadership is Stephen Capulong, Daniel’s nephew and the biological son of his sister Liezel S. Capulong.

Observers interpret this choice as consistent with a broader pattern in MCGI: only blood relatives are entrusted with the reins of power, while spiritual calling or doctrinal depth are secondary considerations, if considered at all.

The organization’s vast resources—including television stations, global properties, and hundreds of millions in assets—remain tightly controlled by this inner familial circle.

Silence, Secrecy, and Control

Critics argue that MCGI’s inner circle has weaponized secrecy as a form of control. Members are discouraged from questioning leadership decisions, and those who raise concerns about succession or governance are often marginalized or shunned.

Meanwhile, the members continue to contribute money and time, and participate in activities presented as spiritual duties, unaware that they may be reinforcing a hereditary leadership model rather than a scriptural one.

No Gospel Requires a Bloodline

As new information emerges, questions continue to swirl about the legitimacy of MCGI’s leadership and whether its current structure aligns with the principles it publicly preaches. For many former members, the recent revelations confirm what they long suspected: that MCGI is a family enterprise first, and a religious movement second—if at all.

In the words of one ex-church worker:

“No gospel needs a womb. No church should be built on inheritance. If your faith depends on someone else’s last name, it’s not faith. It’s feudalism.”