The headquarters of the powerful Iglesia ni Cristo on Commonwealth Avenue in Diliman, Quezon City.
Why not put Mamasapano incident first?
The Iglesia Ni Cristo questioned Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s motive in prioritizing the serious illegal detention case an expelled INC member filed against its eight ministers over the cases involving suspects in the Mamasapano tragedy in January.
This was after Isaias Samson Jr. filed criminal charges against the members of INC’s Sanggunian for allegedly placing them under house arrest for nine days.
Samson accused Sanggunian ministers of ordering him and his family’s detention in their own house in Quezon City amid the power struggle that gripped the INC in July.
“Ang pagsusulong ng reklamong inihain ni Samson ay napag-alaman naming nagawa sa ilalim ng patnubay ni Sec. Leila de Lima, sapagkat labis at di pangkaraniwan ang atensyon na iniukol niya—ano kaya ang motibo niya?–siya pa mismo ang personal na nagasikaso sa nasabing reklamo,” said in a statement read by INC spokesperson Bienvenido Santiago on Wednesday.
(The complaint filed by Samson was done under the guidance of Sec. Leila de Lima, and she is giving an unusual amount of attention to this… what could be her motive? She was the one who personally helped with the said complaint)
Santiago said it has come to their attention that the DOJ are coddling dismissed INC members. “Nakarating po sa aming kaalaman na may ilan pa pong inaalagaan ang DOJ na mga inalis na sa Iglesia at mga kabilang sa nais na manggulo sa Iglesia.”
“Kumpara sa 44 na sundalo na napatay sa Mamasapano–dito sa inireklamo ni Samson ay wala ni isang lamok na napatay. Halata namang kasinungalingan ang sinasabi ng mga nagrereklamo,” it added.
(Compared to the 44 soldiers that were slain in Mamasapano, in Samson’s complaint, not even a mosquito was harmed. It’s obvious that the complainants are lying)
Some 44 Special Action Force troopers were killed in a police operation against international terrorist bomb-makers in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Two of the SAF 44, as the slain policemen are collectively called, PO3 Nicky Nacino Jr. and PO3 Ephraim Mejia are followers of the influential religious sect.
“Gusto naming paratingin kay Secretary de Lima at sa mga naguutos sa kanya na hinihiling namin ngayon–sa ngalan ng mga naulila ng dalawang sundalong nasawi sa Mamasapano na mga kapatid namin sa Iglesia–na pag-ukulan din niya ng kasing sigasig na pagaasikaso ang kaso ng Fallen 44,” he said.
(We want to convey to Secretary de Lima and those who are ordering her–for the sake of those who were left behind by the two fallen soldiers who were our brothers in Iglesia–to give the same attention to the case of the Fallen 44)
“Sa madaling sabi, ay dapat maging parehas at walang bias ang Kagawaran ng Katarungan (The Department of Justice should be just and unbiased). The least we can expect from the Department of Justice–is justice,” he added. Julliane Love de Jesus/JE