Expelled minister crosses swords with Iglesia lawyer

Former Iglesia Ni Cristo member Lowell Menorca II. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

THE ORDEAL of expelled Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) minister Lowell Menorca II was “all in the mind,” according to the INC’s lawyer when Menorca finally faced a court hearing Tuesday on his petition seeking protection from the alleged harassment and threats from the leaders of the sect.

In his cross-examination of Menorca, defense lawyer Rogelio Vinluan attempted to show that Menorca and his family were never robbed of their liberty while allegedly detained at the INC compound, repeatedly telling Menorca in open court: “It’s just in your mind.” He later described Menorca’s testimony to reporters as “all guni-guni” (imagination).

Menorca narrated his family’s ordeal when they were detained for three months at the church’s Central Office last year.

The experience has traumatized him, his wife Jinky and daughter Yurie Keiko, Menorca testified before the Court of Appeals hearing his petition for amparo.

“Even just the sound of the gate opening makes us jittery,” he said, adding that the threat to their lives continues to this day.

Menorca was scheduled to testify at a hearing on the case last week when he was arrested on his way to the appellate court by plainclothes policemen serving an arrest warrant for a libel charge filed by an INC member in Lanao del Sur. Menorca was released on bail on Jan. 22. He is facing at least three cases of libel.

Vinluan repeatedly asked Menorca whether, at any point, he had received any direct threat from the respondents.

The INC leaders named in Menorca’s suit are: INC Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo and members of the church’s Sanggunian (governing council), including Radel Cortez, Bienvenido Santiago and Rolando Esguerra. Menorca accused INC leaders of detaining him on suspicion that he was behind the “subversive” online articles against the sect.

“Directly, verbally? No. But implied and indirect, yes,” Menorca answered.

When Vinluan asked him to confirm that kidnappings are usually carried out “in secrecy, under the cloak of night,” Menorca answered: “You mean if the sun is up (when an abduction happens), that’s no longer kidnapping?”

Vinluan said: “Usually.”

To which Menorca said: “Usually. Then there’s your answer.”

Menorca detailed his ordeal from the time of his initial arrest by police in Sorsogon on July 16, and then brought to Dasmariñas, Cavite, and detained there for allegedly threatening construction workers with a grenade. From there, he and his family were allegedly brought to the INC Central Compound, placed under constant watch and barred from leaving.

“You are an intelligent person. You should have protested to high heavens (during the inquest proceedings),” Vinluan said.

“I did not cause a scene there because I was told to just follow and everything will be OK. What if they did something to my wife and child?” Menorca replied.

He testified that documents he had signed while in detention—including handwritten statements and affidavits belying his abduction—were all executed under duress.

“ I did everything they told me to do, just so they won’t hurt my family… Whatever they wanted me to do, what they wanted me to say, I did,” Menorca said.

Vinluan asked Menorca: If he and his family were indeed detained, why then did the church grant his many requests, among them cable television and even liempo(grilled pork belly)?

“They wanted to make it appear that it was normal. So whatever we needed to have, they gave it,” Menorca said.

The defense lawyer likewise cited how Menorca managed to have “a lot of guests” while at the compound—21 in all—during his family’s supposed detention. Menorca said all his guests had to get the approval of Church leaders.

Defense lawyer Moises Tolentino requested the court to warn Menorca against speaking to the media, noting his frequent interviews.

Menorca’s lawyer Trixie Cruz Angeles said such a ban may not cover other matters outside of his judicial affidavit.

Menorca, when he faced the media after the hearing, was cautious in his statements.

“I’ve been warned by the court, but what I can say is this: With the continuous harassment and intimidation against me and my family, we will continue to fight for the truth. We’ve lost so much already. We’re continuously being intimidated but we’re very hopeful that the justice system will prevail and we will be vindicated,” he said.