EXPELLED Iglesia ni Cristo member Felix Nathaniel “Ka Angel” Manalo maintained on Friday he would not leave the church compound.
“Aside from the absence of an ejection case against my house [sic], there is no other case and no court order for what they have done,” he said in a statement sent to the media.
He expressed his disappointment over the inaction of the Commission on Human Rights, Philippine Red Cross and Department of Social Welfare and Development to look into what he called their sorry state.
He said visitors were not allowed to see them and bring food for six days before his arrest on Wednesday.
On Feb. 27, men employed by the INC, along with barangay officials and the Quezon City Police District members, “invaded the compound where we reside,” he said.
He said he heard Barangay New Era chairman Reynaldo Ebron, an INC member, speak on the mega phone, saying “do not interfere with our project.”
“We wondered what project of theirs we were not supposed to interfere with. A few moments later, a big backhoe entered and started demolishing one part of our house,” he said.
“You may see this on a live video footage we took which aired on Facebook.”
Without a court order, the demolition team dismantled his house at 36 Tandang Sora Avenue as his wife and children, along with the other women-occupants, were sent into panic, he said.
Using a backhoe, the men continued with their “illegal demolition,” he added.
The police came and talked to them that there was a complaint against them, he said.
He complained their lawyers and other visitors were not allowed to enter the compound and see them, saying they were “like prisoners in our own home.”
They were surrounded by armed security personnel and closed-circuit television, he noted.
“For six days now, we have not received our ration of food and water. This is the repeated scenario since last year. We continue to experience harassment and threats. We still have no electricity and water,” he said.
“We pleaded to CHR, PRC and DSWD but our situation has not changed.”
Manalo said they were shocked to learn about the news that they were accused of firing shots and had hurt someone.
“Nothing like that happened. We are the victims in this incident. We are forced to evacuate from our own home through oppression, hardship and starvation,” he said.
“We are calling on Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa and Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno. There is no court order for the demolition of our house. Have mercy on us. Do not just allow us to die and please help us protect our human rights.”
Last Wednesday, the QCPD operatives arrested Manalo and his sister, Lottie Manalo-Hemedez inside the church compound in Tandang Sora for illegal possession of firearms.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s Branch 106 Judge Angelene Mary Quimpo-Sale issued a search warrant to authorize policemen to enter the house of Manalo and conduct a search of the location for evidence of possession of firearms.
According to QCPD Director Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, Manalo, who yielded two firearms inside his house, along with Lottie and 26 others, is still detained at Camp Karingal.
“Of course, he (Manalo) will deny they did not fire shots at our policemen,” he told the Manila Standard.