Angel Manalo, 2 others moved to Bicutan jail

Angel Manalo, shown here being moved out of Camp Karingal, had asked the court to keep him at the camp but his motion was denied, according to the QCPD chief. —NÑO JESUS ORBETA

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court has ordered the transfer of the detained Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo, the estranged sibling of Iglesia Ni Cristo executive minister Eduardo Manalo, and two other expelled INC members to another police camp.

The police on Friday morning moved Angel Manalo, his nephew Victor Eraño Manalo Hemedez, and Jonathan Ledesma out of the Quezon City Police District headquarters in Camp Karingal to the Metro Manila District Jail inside Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

The transfer was in compliance with the commitment order issued by Judge Luisito Cortez of QC Regional Trial Court Branch 84 on Wednesday.

Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, QCPD director, said he had received information that Manalo had filed a motion asking the court to keep him at Karingal. “But we didn’t receive any copy and we are not sure why it was denied,” he added.

Manalo and Hemedez have been charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions for the six guns and over 100 rounds of ammunition found during a March 2 police raid on the disputed INC compound at 36 Tandang Sora Avenue.

Ledesma is facing charges for frustrated murder with direct assault for allegedly shooting two policemen during the raid.

While Manalo was not allowed by the city prosecutor’s office to post bail, Hemedez has yet to post the recommended bail in his case amounting to P100,000.

The three men were among the 32 people rounded up by the police during the raid. The rest were released after almost a week in detention for further investigation, including Angel’s sister and Victor’s mother, Lottie Manalo Hemedez.

Eleazar explained that “the practice really is to commit suspects to any facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. People come and go in our lockup cells (at Camp Karingal), so it is very risky, aside from having limited space for them.”

After the March 2 raid and with the Manalo siblings and their families removed from the Tandang Sora compound, the QCPD again searched the property on March 8 with the permission of the INC leadership.

Authorities said the second search uncovered a cache of 56 rifles, 18 pistols, 62 rifle grenades, 27 hand grenades and over 17,000 rounds of ammunition in an abandoned building.

The lawyers of the Manalo siblings have yet to give a statement on the raids and charges.