(Eagle News) — The Iglesia Ni Cristo will file cases before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court against the group of Mrs. Lolita “Lottie” Hemedez, Mr. Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo and other occupants of number 36 Tandang Sora Avenue, Quezon City.
Attorney Danny Villanueva, one of the lawyers of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, said the cases to be filed are for slight physical injury and grave threats. Another case of trespassing will be filed against Mrs. Lottie Hemedez and other occupants of the Tandang Sora property.
This is in line with the January 15, 2016 incident in front of the Tandang Sora avenue INC property. Two security guards of the Iglesia Ni Cristo got hurt and were bruised after a commotion wherein pushing and shoving arose because the woman with Mrs. Lottie hit the security guards with her umbrella.
Atty. Danny Villanueva, a lawyer for the Iglesia Ni Cristo, said that it was clear from the video taken from the CCTV footage how the many bodyguards of Lottie Hemedez, most of whom were former military men, tried to provoke and deliberately caused a commotion in the area.
He also noted how one of Hemedez’s bodyguards had even tried to reach for the metal detector being used by the INC security guards, and had tried to get one of the guns of the INC security men.
He said two INC security men got hurt and bruised in the incident.
“Lahat po ng involved, maaari ding magkaroon ng pananagutan — si Lottie Hemedez, (her son) Jem Hemedez at yung iba pang mga kasama. Sapagkat makikita ho, ma-e-establish din na may conspiracy doon sa ginawa nila bago pa ho ang komosyon. Sa kanila ho nanggaling yung provocation — pang-aagaw ng metal detector doon sa guwardya natin, yung pag-agaw ng baril; meron pang sumuntok kaya ho may nasaktan. At makikita naman ho sa medico legal certificate na issue po ng ospital na talagang dalawang gwardiya po natin ang nagtamo ng sugat doon po sa nangyari. Kaya lahat po ng nandoon maging yung nag-udyok, nag-utos ay kasama po sa mananagot sa anumang krimen partikular na nga yung physical injuries, yung sugat na tinamo ng ating dalawang guwardiya. (All who are involved, they can be held liable — Lottie Hemedez, [her son] Jem Hemedez and their other companions. Because as can be seen, we can also establish there was conspiracy in what they did before the commotion happened. The provocation came from them — when they tried to grab the metal detector from our guard, when they tried to grab the gun; there was even one from them who hit [our guard] that’s why one was hurt. And we can see from the medico-legal certificate issued by the hospital that two of our guards got hurt and had wounds because of the incident. So all of them who were there, even those who tried to provoke, the one who gave the order will be among those liable for any crime particularly the one on physical injuries, the wounds suffered by two of our guards), ” Villanueva explained.
Tension got worse when one of the men belonging to the camp of expelled members Lottie Hemedez and Angel Manalo had pulled out a gun and even tried to grab the metal detector of INC security personnel detailed in the area.
The INC security guards were preventing a group of men and a girl who were with Mrs. Hemedez from entering the INC compound.
Atty. Villanueva said these people were not authorized to go inside the INC property.
CCTV footage shows Hemedez bodyguard Jonathan Ledesma pulling out a gun
The CCTV footage also showed one of the bodyguards of Lottie Hemedez pulling out a gun. He was later identified as Jonathan Ledesma, a former soldier from the Philippine Navy and currently listed as a “deserter” based on military records.
Atty. Villanueva said, the INC guards were just trying to implement the instruction given to them that only Mrs. Lottie Hemedez would be allowed to go inside the INC compound.
Villanueva added that this was not the first time that the INC security guards were harrassed by Mrs. Hemedez’s bodyguards.
Lottie Hemedez’s bodyguards, mostly former military men
He noted that this was a strategy on the part of Hemedez’s guards, most of whom had military training as former soldiers, to start a commotion that would make the INC security guards look as the instigators.
The guards of Mrs. Hemedez were part of a group connected to former Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon known for being one of the Magdalo soldiers who participated in the Oakwood mutiny in July 2003.
Faeldon started his military career in June 1989 as a 3rd Class Trainee of the Naval Combat Engineering Brigade (formerly Naval Construction Brigade). He was called into active duty (CAD) by the Philippine Marine Corps in 1992.
Faeldon’s security agency hired by Lottie, Angel for their security
Faeldon is now a co-owner of a security agency. Ahmed Paglinawan, one of the lawyers of Lottie and Angel said his clients have secured the services of Faeldon’s security agency.
Curiously, Atty. Trixie Angeles, the main lawyer of Lottie and Angel, had served as lawyer of Faeldon when he surrendered to the government in 2010.
Sources said Atty. Angeles was also responsible for letting Philippine Navy deserter Ledesma into the INC compound.
Ledesma was among the first batch of unauthorized men which the camp of Hemedez had tried to smuggle into the INC compound saying that the men were to serve as “gardeners”. They were prevented then by the INC guards from entering the property.
(See https://www.eaglenews.ph/defense-lawyers-bring-ex-military-men-to-incs-t-sora-property/)
But on December 15, during the ocular inspection of the property by the Quezon City court, Ledesma was one of two men who were with Atty. Trixie Angeles, when she went inside the Tandang Sora compound.
When she left the property, the other two men she brought in were not with her anymore, the source said.
It is believed that the two men are, since then, among the unauthorized occupants of the said INC property.
Armed and masked men previously seen entering T. Sora property
Villanueva noted how unidentified men had been previously allowed inside by the Hemedez camp as shown by CCTV footages.
“Ang totoo bago pa ho yung pangyayari noong January 15, noong Oktubre pa ng 2015, ay marami na pong nakita yung ating mga guwardiya na nakapasok doon sa number 36. At itong mga nakapasok po na mga kalalakihan na laging nakasuot ng bonnet ay talagang armado po sila. May mahahabang kalibre ng baril at meron din silang mga hawak na maiksing kalibre at kumpleto ho sila sa gamit. At karamihan ho sa mga ito ay kasamahan ni Ginoong Faeldon. (The truth is before this happened on January 15, way back October 2015, there had been many persons seen by our guards entering [the compound] at no. 36. And those who were able to enter were men seen as always wearing bonnets, and they were really armed. They had long rifles and they also held short-caliber rifles, and they were well-equipped. And most of them were companions of Mr. Faeldon),” he noted.
“Itong si Ginoong Faeldon po ay ito po yung isang opisyal, dating opisyal ng Philippine Navy na nakasama doon sa Oakwood Mutiny. At kaya naman itong ating mga guwardiya na nagbabantay dyan sa no. 36 talagang alam nila na ang grupong ito ay armado ng matatas na kalibre ng baril at meron silang training na puminsala kaya maiintindihan po natin yung naging reaksiyon nung isa sa mga gwardiya natin. Bahagi po ng kanilang pagtupad ng tungkulin bilang gwardiya na ipagtanggol, na walang mapinsala doon sa mga nakatira doon sa no. 36 at huwag ding mapinsala siyempre sila bilang mga gwardiya. (Mr. Faeldon is this official, former official of the Philippine Navy who was involved in the Oakwood Mutiny. And so our guards who are keeping watch at no. 36, really know that this group is armed with high-caliber firearms and that they have special training to cause harm, so we understand the reaction of one of our guards. Part of their duty as guards is to defend — that there would be no harm that would come to those living at no. 36, and, of course, that no harm would also come to them as guards),” explained.
Villanueva also said that the INC security personnel acted in self-defense when they pulled out a handgun, knowing that they were facing danger.
“Nandon po yung panganib sapagkat yung mga nagtatangkang pumasok ay alam nila na may mga dalang armas. Kaya lang bahagi po ng instructions sa kanila (INC guards) na mag-observe ng maximum tolerance kaya hindi po sila gumamit ng pisikal na dahas para lang ipagtanggol ang kanilang sarili. (There is that danger because those who were attempting to enter [the compound], they have weapons. But the instructions to our guards was to observe maximum tolerance which is why they did not use physical force to defend themselves), ” the INC lawyer said.
“Kaya lamang noong January 15 sapagkat doon na yung totong panganib, sapagkat meron ng mga bumunot ng baril sa kabilang kampo at may nakita nga sila na isang mataas na kalibre ng baril na hawak noong nasa looban, at sila nga ay sinaktan at inagawan ng baril kaya ho justified yung reaction ng isang gwardiya natin na ipagtanggol ang kanyang sarili at bahagi nun yung paggamit ng baril na inisyu sa kanya para magampanan niya yung kanyang tungkulin bilang isang gwardiya. (But on January 15, because there was real danger at the time as one of those from the other camp [Lottie’s guards] had already pulled out a gun and our security men saw a high-powered rifle carried by one of the men inside, and they [INC guards] were being hurt and one of them [Lottie’s bodyguards] had tried to grab the gun of one of our security men, so the reaction of one of our guards to defend himself was justified. And part of the performance of that duty [to defend] is to use the gun issued to him as a guard if necessary),” Villanueva added.
INC investigating January 15 incident
INC spokesperson, Bro. Edwil Zabala, meantime, confirmed that the Iglesia Ni Cristo is conducting an investigation of the January 15, 2016 incident.
“The Iglesia Ni Cristo is conducting an investigation into the incident that took place last January 15, 2016 in front of number 36 Tandang Sora, Quezon City. In that incident there were people from the camp of Mrs. Lottie Hemedez and Mr. Angel Manalo who tried to grab the metal detector of one of the security guards of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. We also were able to see in the CCTV footage that someone from inside, a deserter of the Philippine Navy, named Mr. Ledesma, pulled out a gun and we were able to determine that Mr. Ledesma, a deserter, I repeat, a deserter of the Philippine Navy, was one of those who entered the compound at number 36 Tandang Sora, allowed by Mrs. Lottie Hemedez and Mr. Angel Manalo without approval,” Zabala said.
Meanwhile, Eagle News still could not reach Mrs. Hemedez’ camp for comment. (with reports from Eden Suarez Santos, Eagle News Service)