It’s our family home, says Manalo sister

Lottie Manalo-Hemedez (right), expelled sibling of Iglesia Ni Cristo executive minister Eduardo Manalo, speaks to the media for the first time on Friday. Beside her is her lawyer Trixie Cruz- Angeles. FRANCES MANGOSING

An estranged sister of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) executive minister Eduardo Manalo on Friday broke her silence on the controversies surrounding the homegrown church and its founding family.

In her first interview with the media since she was expelled from the politically influential church group last year, Lolita “Lottie” Manalo-Hemedez maintained that the disputed property on No. 36 Tandang Sora Avenue belongs to her family and not to the INC.

On Thursday, the INC held a press conference threatening to file an ejectment case against the Manalos should they continue to refuse to vacate the residential compound adjacent to the INC central compound in Quezon City, which has also served as the founding family’s home since the 1970s.

“This is our residence. This is the residence of our father. This is a compound for the family. We are the family of the chosen one (Angkan kami ng sugo). We have a right to the property,” Hemedez said in a press conference with select media entities yesterday.

Hemedez said the property title has been under her name and her husband’s since they were married in 1983.

Hemedez has been holing up at the compound with another brother, Angel, since they and their other siblings were expelled from the INC in the middle of last year.

Hemedez, who was accompanied by her lawyer Trixie Angeles, accused the INC of forcing her signature and that of her husband’s in a transfer of deed of sale dated April 16, 2015—

two years after Hemedez’s husband’s death.

Hemedez’s contention was the subject of a falsification case she filed against the INC at the Quezon City prosecutor’s office last Jan. 4.