Writs of amparo, habeas corpus filed vs. Iglesia ni Cristo’s Manalo, other leaders

The brother of Iglesia ni Cristo minister Lowell Menorca on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to order INC executive minister Eduardo Manalo to give up custody over the minister and his family. In a petition, Anthony Menorca asked the tribunal to issue writs of amparo and habeas corpus against Manalo, Radel Cortez, Bienvenido Santiago, Rolando Esguerra. A writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty, and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission. A habeas corpus plea, meanwhile, is a legal action that gives a person the right to seek relief from unlawful detention. It serves as an instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary government action. Joining Anthony in his petition was Lowell's sister-in-law Jungko Otsuka. Anthony and Jungko both claimed that Lowell, his wife Jinky Otsuka-Menorca, their daughter, and their househelp Abbegail Yanson were being held by the church against their will. GMA News Online repeatedly tried to get the side of the Iglesia ni Cristo leadership but has yet to receive any reply as of posting time. In their plea, the petitioners asked the high court to direct the "Respondents to produce and deliver the persons, subject of this Petition, over to the custody of the Petitioners for the latter to bring them before this Honorable Court." The petitioners said that in case the respondents would refuse giving up custody, the Supreme Court should order the inspection of the detention area inside the INC Central compound, along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City The petitioners also asked the SC to order the Iglesia ni Cristo officials to produce documents, including electronic surveillance reports by the ACTIV, the church's internet technology department, submitted to the leadership related to Lowell and his family. The petitioners sought "to enjoin Respondents from doing further harm and even from approaching or transacting with the persons subject of this Petition." Anthony, who is now under the Witness Protection Program, earlier claimed his brother and his family were being held against their will by the INC. Anthony had earlier alleged that had could not get in touch with Lowell, also known as Ka Boyet, who was arrested in Cavite on July 17 for supposedly threatening commuters with a hand grenade. Lowell was released on July 25 after the complainants against him signed affidavits of desistance. He later went public and denied the abduction accusations made by his brother. "Sana Anthony, bumalik ka na. Sana magkasama na tayo. At kung anuman ang sinasabi nila sa iyo, huwag mo silang paniwalaan. Ako ang paniwalaan mo," he earlier said in a GMA News report. 'Incarceration' The nine-page petition claimed Lowell was "forcibly" taken by armed men on July 16, 2015 after a church service at the Iglesia ni Cristo chapel in Bulan, Sorsogon. His wife, Jinky, also eventually "surrendered" to the Iglesia ni Cristo Sanggunian, the church's highest advisory body, after Esguerra told her over the phone "in a very menacing manner" that she would never see her husband again if she would not appear at the Iglesia ni Cristo Central Office in Quezon City. Jungko claimed she was recently allowed to visit her sister Jinky "after months of incarceration" inside the Iglesia ni Cristo Central Compound, where she allegedly witnessed the "horribly stressful conditions in which Lowell, Jinky and their company were in." Jungko said while they were not kept inside prison cells, her sister and her family were not allowed to wander about inside the Iglesia ni Cristo compound. "They were restricted in, around and in the immediate vicinity of the building where they are being held," read the petition. "They can still move about within the said confines; but the Iglesia ni Cristo had instructed their security guards and other security personnel to absolutely prohibit any member of the detained group from going out of the compound," it further read. The petition claimed three months of incarceration had already taken its toll on the Menorca family, with the members gradually developing emotional and psychological stress. "They are under tremendous physical deterioration, emotional anxiety and psychological stressed," the petition read. On October 16, a new set of guards was assigned to the Menorcas. The guards allegedly had with them a sack of high-caliber rifles and ammunition. Several men have likewise been speaking to Lowell, alternately threatening and cajoling him not to speak out against the church. "Now both Lowell and Jungko are absolutely convinced that Lowell and his family are in immediate and imminent danger, considering that a case for illegal detention against the Sanggunian had already been filed in August," read the petition. "The seizure of Lowell and his family is on a scale far worse than that of Isaias Samson, who was also detained by the Iglesia ni Cristo Sanggunian," To this day, Lowell, his family and their househelp are still not allowed to leave the Iglesia ni Cristo compound, and are constantly surrounded by guards, with Jungko being the only person allowed to visit them. "Lowell and each of the detained group are experiencing an ever-growing anxiety about the ever-tightening clasp the INC has upon them. They are now crying for freedom," said the petitioners. —NB/JST, GMA News

Source:

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/541447/news/nation/writs-of-amparo-habeas-corpus-filed-vs-iglesia-ni-cristo-s-manalo-other-leaders