OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY September 1 - 15, 2018
OFFENDERS, NOT VICTIMS
Letter to the Editor
By Don Orozco
Felix
Nathaniel
“Angel”
Manalo and Lolita “Lottie” Manalo-
Hemedez are offenders who should
be shunned and made accountable
to the fullest extent under the laws of
the Philippines.
These two are the architects
of a continuing and concerted effort
to discredit the name of the INC
among its members as well as with the
general public. They do these not by
any legitimate means but by painting
themselves as oppressed victims who
supposedly stand in the right.
The fake public outcries,
however, are completely belied by their
actions. They are both transgressors
of the Philippine law who enjoy zero
credibility. They manipulate the truth
to serve their selfish interests that are
contrary to the sacred principles of
brotherhood and inclusiveness that
the Iglesia Ni Cristo stands for.
Angel and Lottie Manalo were
expelled from the INC more than three
years ago in July 2015 and have been
completely stripped of all privileges
granted to INC members.
They are not victims. They
do not deserve our sympathy. They
deserve to be in prison. The fact
that they were expelled despite being
relatives of INC Executive Minister
Eduardo V. Manalo only means and
goes to show that the INC is fully
objective and impartial in its dealings
with all its members, irrespective of
their backgrounds.
Indeed, respect for the doctrine
of the Church is more important than
loyalty to a particular person or even
blood relation.
Angel Manalo is facing a no-
bail charge for illegal possession of
firearms and ammunition after an
armoury of 80 high-powered weapons
and more than 17,000 rounds of
ammunition were found in his former
residence last March 2017.
He and a handful of
“sympathizers” acting as a private
army engaged in a shootout with police
when law enforcement authorities
tried to serve a search warrant on
their former residence. As a result
of Angel’s aggression, injuries were
sustained by members of the PNP.
Lottie and Angel Manalo were
also legally evicted from the INC
property in Quezon City by valid and
lawful court order.
A ruling issued by the Manila
Metropolitan Trial Court
Branch
12 decided in favour of the INC’s
ejectment suit against the two ex-
members. Trial Court Judge Ann Sia
explained in her six-page decision that
the two Manalos were illegally residing
in the church’s property in 36 Tandang
Sora and that they had lost the
privilege to live in the premises when
they were expelled in July 2015.
Of course, Angel and Lottie
still insist on twisting the truth and
claim harassment even if there is
already a decided court case against
them.
If they ever claim publicly
to have been evicted without any
basis, they are lying and they are
only seeking public sympathy for an
already lost cause.
Angel Manalo and Lottie
Manalo-Hemedez
continue
to
manipulate the minds of the small
audience they manage to reach.
Angel and Lottie, however, cannot
escape the truth. They cannot escape
the law. No matter how many lies they
tell, they will not succeed because
they are aggressors and offenders.
Angel Manalo and Lottie
Manalo-Hemedez are not being
persecuted. They deserve to be
prosecuted.
Don Orozco can be reached
at [email protected]. He is
a contributing writer for Philippine
News and Fil-Am Star newspaper
circulated in mainland USA as well
as a business reporter and online
marketing head of pinoyparinkami.
com. He is a licensed Notary Public
in the State of California and a
deputized Sherriff of the Santa Clara
County.
MOSAIC’s statement on Shen murder case
Vancouver, BC – In response
to calls from media seeking comment
about the Shen murder suspect’s
immigration status, Olga Stachova,
Chief Executive Officer has released
the following statement on behalf of
MOSAIC (Multilingual Orientation
Services Association for Immigrant
Communities).
As with all Canadians, the
thoughts of MOSAIC staff are with the
Shen family at this very difficult time.
MOSAIC has worked with
refugees for over 40 years and our
experience has most often been
positive since they come to Canada
to escape violence, and are seeking a
peaceful life. It is incomprehensible
that anyone could commit an
atrocious act like murder, regardless
of immigration status. That said,
we are as shocked and dismayed as
anyone else to learn that the suspect
is a refugee.
It has been shown that
immigrants are statistically less likely
to commit crimes than others, but as
in everything else, there are always
exceptions.
The fact that the suspect is
a Syrian refugee is the main focus
of most news commentary and
coverage.
As one of BC’s largest
immigrant serving organizations,
MOSAIC is concerned that the focus
on immigration status will negatively
impact support for refugees, and
erode the goodwill and generosity
that the majority of Canadians have
Book now and fly any