QC police: Shots fired at guards in Iglesia property

Unidentified suspects shot at two security guards manning a controversial Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) property in Quezon City on Monday, wounding one of them, the police said.

The apparent targets of the shooting, 25-year-old Ardine Marcoso and 24-year-old Jervie Rejano, were stay-in guards employed by the INC Security Department and posted at 36 Tandang Sora Avenue, Barangay New Era.

The compound has been the subject of a legal dispute initiated by the INC leadership under Eduardo Manalo against his siblings Angel Manalo and Lottie Hemedez, who were the occupants of the property when they were expelled from the religious group in 2015.

A report to Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, the city police chief, said the two guards were on duty around 2:45 p.m. Monday when somebody fired shots in their direction and slightly wounded Marcoso’s arm.

With the investigation still ongoing on Wednesday, it was initially suspected that the shots came from “tenants” during the “demolition” of structures in the compound.

The incident was also reported on social media by former INC minister Lowell Menorca II, who on Monday posted on Facebook: “Shots fired inside No. 36 Tandang Sora compound!” The post was followed by video clips purportedly showing the demolition of the structures.

Reached for comment, INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala said the shooting incident remained a police matter and that “as far as we are concerned, we remain committed to our earlier policy of pursuing legal and nonviolent means to exercise our right to security.”