Detained Manalo siblings, group moved after inquest

Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Villanueva Manalo (Contributed file photo)

Expelled Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) members Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo, his sister Lolita Manalo Hemedez and 25 others were moved to another detention site in Camp Karingal after a complaint for illegal possession of firearms was filed against them Friday night.

Sources said the inquest proceedings were done not in the city prosecutor’s office but in the District Public Safety Battalion (DPSB) building for “security purposes.”

After being presented to Assistant City Prosecutor Nilo Peñaflor, the respondents were transferred from the DPSB to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) building, also in Karingal, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) headquarters.

The complaint stemmed from the cache of guns and ammunition allegedly found by the police when they raided the INC compound at No. 36 Tandang Sora Avenue on Thursday.

Supt. Rodelio Marcelo, CIDU chief, said the complaint was “submitted for further disposition” and the prosecutor’s resolution may be released on Monday.

“They can be committed to the city jail or their lawyers can file a motion for further investigation,” Marcelo told the Inquirer on Saturday.

The new detention site remained heavily guarded but the QCPD allowed supporters of the Manalo siblings to bring them food.

Meanwhile, two minors who were among the 32 people rounded up in Thursday’s raid have been turned over to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.