INC denies hand in issuance of arrest warrant vs ex-minister

An official from the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) has asked its former minister Lowell Menorca to just face the arrest warrant issued against him in a Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte court after Menorca alleged that the powerful church is involved in his arrest.

In an interview which aired on radio dzMM on Tuesday, INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala said that they have already expelled Menorca from the church and thus could not be implicated in the serving of the arrest warrant against the former minister.

“Alam niyo po tiniwalag na po namin si Mr. Menorca sa Iglesia ni Cristo. Sapat na po yun sa panig ng Iglesia. That’s the most that can be done po as far as the membership in the Church is concerned. Ngayon kung may dapat siyang haraping kaso, harapin niya. Kung merong sine-serve na arrest warrant, harapin niya kasi hindi naman ang organisasyon ang umaaresto sa kanya,” Zabala said.

(You know that we have already discharged Mr. Menorca from Iglesia ni Cristo. That’s enough for Iglesia’s side. That’s the most that can be done as far as the membership in the Church is concerned. Now, if he has a case to face, then he must face it. If an arrest warrant is served, he must face it because it is not the organization that is arresting him.)

READ: Ex-INC minister barred from going to hearing as police try to serve arrest warrant

He said that he had no prior knowledge of the serving of the arrest warrant against Menorca which triggered a standoff between policemen and Menorca’s family at Quirino Avenue corner Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

Zabala said that Menorca’s claim that the INC has a hand in the serving of the arrest warrant is just the ex-minister’s opinion.

“Opinyon po yun sa bahagi (ni Menorca). Bakit hindi ang mga humuhuli sa kanya ang tinatanong niya?” the spokesperson added.

(That’s his opinion. Why won’t he ask those who are arresting him?)

The ex-minister is on his way to a scheduled hearing at the Court of Appeals for his petitions for writs of amparo and habeas corpus when policemen served an arrest warrant for a libel case issued in Marawi City.

Menorca has already turned himself in to the police and was escorted to Manila Police Station 5 in Ermita, Manila after consulting with his lawyer Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles and negotiating with Manila Police District Chief C/Supt Rodolfo Nana. CDG