Iglesia ni Cristo denies hand in arrest of ex-minister Menorca

The Iglesia ni Cristo on Wednesday afternoon denied it had a hand in the arrest of its former minister, Lowell Menorca, earlier in the day.

"We did not serve the warrant [of arrest]," said Iglesia ni Cristo spokesman Edwin Zabala in a press briefing. "It was the Philippine National Police who served it."

Menorca was arrested in Manila on Wednesday morning while on his way to the Court of Appeals to attend a hearing on the petition for writs of habeas corpus and amparo his family filed against Iglesia ni Cristo leaders, including its executive minister, Eduardo Manalo.

Menorca's wife has accused the group's leaders of abducting her husband in Sorsogon in July last year and of illegally detaining them at the group's compound in Quezon City.

Above the law

Menorca, arrested in connection with a libel case, had linked the influential religious group to his arrest.

"Ito mga bagay na 'to, hindi nila ako kayang kumbinsihin na walang kinalaman ang Iglesia ni Cristo dito," Menorca said. "Kayang-kaya nilang gawin 'to. They are above the law."

Menorca's camp also said Iglesia ni Cristo leaders did not want his cross examination to push through — a claim denied by Zabala.

"It is not true that we don't want Menorca's cross examination to proceed," Zabala said, adding their legal team "came prepared" to the Court of Appeals.

Zabala, however, admitted that the libel case was filed by Iglesia ni Cristo members, and may have been connected to the ongoing rift between them and Menorca.

"I personally believe that it is connected to everything... I suppose time will show just how the connections came about and how deeply he is connected to what's happening over there in #36 Tandang Sora," Zabala said, referring to the Iglesia ni Cristo's compound where Menorca and his family claimed they were detained.

The CA has already postponed Menorca's cross examination to February following his arrest.  

Cops in civilian clothes

According to earlier reports, the arrest warrant on Menorca was served by Manila policemen in plain clothes at the corner of Nakpil Street and Taft Avenue. He allegedly resisted arrest until he was caught at the corner of Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard.

According to one of the police officers who was in the scene, Menorca hid the warrant before demanding that the police present it to him.

"Pagbaba namin, binabasa ko 'yung warrant, hinanapan niya 'ko ng baril. Wala akong mapakita dahil Comelec gun ban," a policeman identified as PO3 Santos recounted in a video interview presented by Zabala during the press conference.

"Itinakbo niya ang warrant sa loob ng Innova. Pagtakbo niya dun, hinanapan kami na walang warrant at ID. Paano ko maipapakita ang warrant at ID eh hawak niya?" Santos added.

Santos is not a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo, Zabala said.

Face the charges

Zabala said the Iglesia ni Cristo will not meddle on the issue of Menorca's arrest, and urged him to face the charges filed against him, noting that it went through the proper legal process.

"Di naman lalabas ang arrest warrant kung walang dinaanang proseso. So harapin niya na lang," Zabala said.

"Pag humarap na sa korte si Menorca, may chance din sya ilabas ang panig. May mga bagay na sa Korte muna dadaan bago sa publiko," he added. —Jessica Bartolome/KBK, GMA News