(Eagle News) – The spokesperson for the Iglesia Ni Cristo challenged detractors of the Church to prove any accusation they might have against the Church in court.
At the same time, INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala also condemned the “repeated use of the media” by the supporters of these expelled members “to throw baseless accusations” against the INC.
“We condemn the repeated use of the media by the supporters of Mr. Angel Manalo and Mrs. Lottie Hemedez to throw baseless accusations that seek to besmirch the reputation of our Church, its officials and its members – as well as deflect attention from the ejectment case currently lodged against Mr. Angel Manalo and Mrs. Lottie Hemedez,”said INC spokesperson minister Edwil Zabala.
“If they believe that the Church is in any way involved in illegal acts, then they should file the appropriate cases and allow authorities to conduct an impartial and thorough investigation, which we are confident willl clear us of any wrongdoing,” he said.
Zabala stressed that there is now a court ruling on the ejectment of Lottie Hemedez and Angel Manalo and their companions from the INC property in 36 Tandang Sora Avenue and that this mght be a cause of concern for these expelled church members and their supporters.
In a related news, Zabala said he hoped those behind the shooting of the house of an expelled INC member in Tanay, a certain Lorelei delos Santos, will be immediately caught.
“We hope that the true perpetrators of this shooting incident are apprehended. At this point, we would like to repeat: whatever accusations they hurl against the Church, we are sure that things will become clearer after a thorough and impartial investigation by the proper authorities,” he added.
In previous court cases, the expelled INC members have failed to substantiate their claims against the Church in court.
The most recent of which was the dismissal by the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office of the complaint for falsification of public document filed by Hemedez against INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo for “insufficiency of evidence.”
The court ruled that Hemedez’s complaint had “no basis at all” since based on the records she herself had submitted to the prosecutor’s office, the lot being described by the title she submitted was not even the lot at no. 36 Tandang Sora Avenue, but a lot located in Kalaw Hills Subdivision along Commonwealth, Quezon City.
