Menorca camp claims cop tried to snatch househelp at CA compound

A suspected policewoman allegedly tried to snatch the househelp of former Iglesia ni Cristo minister Lowell Menorca inside the compound of the Court of Appeals (CA) in Manila.

Lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles, representing the Menorcas, claimed that an alleged female member of the Philippine National Police tried to snatch the family's househelp, Abegail Yanson, during a break in the proceedings around noon Tuesday.

"There is a continuing threat [on my clients] and we would like to manifest an incident as we were leaving [during a court recess], Abegail was grabbed and was forcibly being taken by a [Criminal Investigation Detection Group] officer," Angeles told the CA Seventh Division during a hearing on her camp's plea for the writs of amparo and habeas corpus.

Angeles claimed the unidentified woman, whom she described as having a short hair and clad in a white shirt, wrapped her arm around Yanson and tried to forcibly take her.

Associate Justice Magdangal de Leon then asked Yanson, who was beside Angeles, to confirm the incident.

A sobbing Yanson, in response, recounted: "May umakbay po sa akin. Parang hinihila niya ako palayo. Wala akong nagawa. Malakas po ang akbay niya."

In an ambush interview before the CA hearing proceeded, Angeles elaborated on the supposed snatching.

"Inakbayan siya sa leeg and according to Abegail, hinatak siya ng malakas," said Angeles.

The lawyer said the unidentified woman tried "dragging" Yanson away but the househelp resisted and refused to go with her. Angeles added that the unidentified woman neither spoke nor presented any document to justify her taking of Yanson.

"Wala siyang ipinakitang arrest warrant o court order. Hindi namin alam paano ito pinapasok. Pero maliwanag na may panggagamit dito... Malaki na ang pangangarag na ginagawa sa kliyente namin sinusunud-sunod na po," she said.

Angeles also claimed there were also lawyers who were able to enter the CA, claiming to be representing the Menorcas. But Angeles clarified that only she and Atty. Ahmed Paglinawan are the family's legal counsels.

"Isa lang ang interpretation namin dito. Tuloy ang pangha-harass kaya kailangan namin ang writ of amparo at gawing permanent ito," said Angeles.

"We also don't know if we will survive getting out of the gates here... Sana makalabas kami," said Angeles. The vicinity within the CA had earlier been tightly secured by the Manila Police District in preparation for the hearing.

Lawyer Patricia Ann Prodigalidad, legally representing the church group, said during the hearing that her camp was not aware of such a snatching incident.

Prodigalidad said that all she knows was that Yanson's mother, who had not seen her daughter for a long time, had tried hugging Abegail during the recess but was prevented.

In the same safehouse

Angeles denied that Yanson was being held against her will by the Menorcas, saying her sibling had in fact joined her and the Menorcas in the same safehouse.

"May kuwento rin siya [Yanson's sibling] kung sino talaga dito ang nire-restarin, sino ang dinukot, at sino ang kinuha. Obviously, hindi si Abegail dahil hindi naman sila umangal. Noong nasa loob sila ng INC Central [office], hindi siya hinanap," the lawyer said.

Angeles also thumbed down a suggestion to have the Menorcas placed under the Witness Protection Program, saying Lowell would rather be out in the open and continuing ministry work despite being expelled.

"It doesn't appear to be working. Ayaw nila [sa WPP]," Angeles said.

During the hearing, the INC camp asked the court to junk the amparo and habeas corpus pleas for being moot, since Menorca had already been "rescued."

Prodigalidad also appealed to the CA justices to resolve the petition "swiftly" after the submission of affidavits and do away with the usual cross-examination done in a full blown trial.

"And the only reason why they have no concern about swiftness precisely because exactly there is no threat. Because if they were truly afraid, they should want the privilege of the writ to be granted immediately, with urgency,"

She said allowing the proceedings to "protract" would give the Menorca camp an opportunity to further "exploit the media and in the meantime disadvantage the respondents, who abide by the rule of sub judice." The sub judice rule prevents parties in a case from speaking publicly about merits of a case.

Named respondents in the case were INC executive minister Eduardo Manalo, and other Iglesia ni Cristo officers Radel Cortez, Bienvenido Santiago, and Rolando Esguerra.

The Iglesia ni Cristo camp claimed Manalo, who has earlier been ordered to appear before the hearing, was out of the country.

The CA Division ordered both camps to complete the submission of all affidavits by Thursday, so the parties can adequately prepare for the second hearing on Wednesday next week, at 10 a.m.

Menorca and his family attended the hearing but did not speak with the media.

Iglesia ni Cristo spokesperson Edwil Zabala, meanwhile, said in a statement that they are ready to face the charges in court even as they hold "the separation of church and state sacrosanct."

"While we firmly believe that discipline of members belongs entirely within the domain of religion, we understand the need to thresh out the baseless allegations of disgruntled and expelled members within the framework of a non-sectarian judicial system - if only to vindicate the name of the Church in the eyes of members and non-members alike," Zabala said.

"We are ready to face all the legal challenges and we continue to pray for all those affected by, and involved in, these cases, as well as the quick and peaceful resolution of the same," he added. —with Raffy Tima/ALG, GMA News

Source:

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/543018/news/nation/menorca-camp-claims-cop-tried-to-snatch-househelp-at-ca-compound