Bro. Edwil Zabala. INQUIRER.net file photo
The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) denied any involvement in the flight of its former minister Lowell Menorca II and his family to Vietnam, saying that the religious sect is the victim in the whole ordeal as they were robbed of the opportunity to debunk the accusations levelled against them.
In a press conference, INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala said that the Menorcas flight was borne out of spite against the religious organization.
“Ang ginagawang ito ay bunga ng sama ng loob. Baka may gusto siyang gawin. Kapag may nangyayari, tinuturo niya kami,” he said.
(Such act was borne out of spite. Perhaps he intended to do something. When something happens, he is pointing at us.)
Zabala presented two witnesses, a married couple with aliases “Tin” and “Ding,” who claimed that they saw Menorca, his wife and child at the Ninoy International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 Sunday night.
The couple, who are both INC members, said that they went in the same flight with the Menorcas to Ho Chi Minh City and that they saw that the Menorca family is in safe condition.
“Maayos sila. Walang masamang nangyari sa kanila,” “Tin” told Zabala through Skype.
(They are fine. Nothing bad happened to them.)
INC lawyer Moises Tolentino Jr. insinuated that Menorca and his family decided to fly out of the country to evade the warrants of arrest over the libel suits filed against him by some INC members.
“He is facing a number of libel suits and lately, he is facing an accusation of adultery. And in these cases, there were already warrants of arrest and he had been ordered to face these warrants. Now, you would see why in this case, he would try to get out of the country,” Tolentino said.
READ: After 3 libel suits, Lowell Menorca slapped with adultery raps
He said that the INC camp was ready to continue the cross-examination on the writ of amparo petition filed by Menorca’sbrother Anthony and sister-in-law Jungko.
Tolentino said that contrary to what Menorca is claiming, the 101-year-old religious sect is the victim in this whole ordeal.
“Bugbog na ang Iglesia. Para bagang kami ang offender. Pero actually, kami ang victim (The INC has been flogged. It seems like we are the offender(s). But actually, we are the victim(s).). Don’t you realize that? Remember that INC is a religious organization. It is not a criminal organization. So, we are hurt whenever there are accusations against us, especially against our leaders,” he lamented.
He said that INC has always given Menorca the space to air out his accusations, even if these were supposedly founded on lies.
“Menorca should be the aggrieved party in the petition. It is their party who filed the petition. Kung sinsero sila (If they are sincere), they should not leave the country. They should face all the opportunities given to them by the respondents,” he said.
Tolentino said that the INC is studying various remedies against Menorca, including the removal of the former minister’s testimony from the court’s records.
“When he comes back, we will face him with all the force of the law in our arsenal,” the lawyer said.
Menorca lawyer not candid
Tolentino also lashed out against Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles, the lawyer of Menorca who floated the idea that the former INC minister “disappeared.”
He said that Cruz-Angeles should have told the court that her client has gone to Vietnam.
“I resent the fact that the lawyer was not very forthright. The lawyer was not right. She should have told the court that her client had left the country. Instead she floated the idea the respondent (INC) may have something to do with their disappearance,” he said.
Sought for comment, Cruz-Angeles scored Tolentino for his “unethical insinuations.”
“We made a faithful report to the court of Mr. Menorca’s call. Now we are sending a message to Mr. Tolentino, that his unethical insinuations will land him before the bar on a question of discipline,” she told INQUIRER.net in a text message.
The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed that Menorca and his wife and child left the country on Sunday at 10:45 p.m. to Ho Chi Minh.
The hearings on the amparo petition were reset to March 21 and 28. RAM