"Free Angel and Lottie" The Court says you are free to go!

“FREE ANGEL AND LOTTIE”?

THE COURT SAYS YOU ARE FREE TO GO

Remember the expelled members’ campaIgn to “Free Angel and Lottie”?

 

This is to gain sympathy from the public and to malign the Church Administration. They wanted the public, especially the members of the Church, to believe that Angel and Lottie are being taken hostage, unlawfully detained, harassed and their rights are violated. They wanted to be freed?

The court says they are free to go!

COURT ORDERS EVICTION OF OCCUPANTS OF

INC PROPERTY AT 36 TANDANG SORA

(Eagle News) – A Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) has ordered the illegal occupants of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) property at 36 Tandang Sora Avenue in Quezon City to “immediately vacate” the said Church premises.

This was the court’s decision in the “unlawful detainer” case filed by the INC against the property’s illegal occupants, namely expelled INC members Lolita “Lottie” Hemedez and Felix Nathaniel “Angel” V. Manalo. The case was filed in February this year following Lottie and Angel’s continued refusal to vacate the premises despite repeated demands from INC.

In a six-page decision, Manila MeTC Branch 12 Judge Anne Perpetual Rivera-Sia directed the said expelled members to “immediately vacate” the INC’s 36 Tandang Sora property and to immediately surrender it to the INC.

The Court ruled that the stay of the siblings was no longer legal. It was merely “tolerated” by the property’s real owner, the INC. When they were expelled from the Church after they violated Church doctrines, this “tolerance” ended.

“Wherefore, premises considered, defendants Lolita “Lottie” M. Hemedez and Felix Nathaniel “Angel” V. Manalo are hereby ordered to ‘immediately vacate’ the subject property at No. 36 Tandang Sora, Quezon City and surrender the possession thereof to plaintiff Iglesia Ni Cristo,” Judge Rivera-Sia said in the said Decision.

The Court also directed the defendants to pay the plaintiff, the INC, the amount of P2,420 for costs of filing of the suit.

The Manila MeTC court rendered the decision for Quezon City MeTC branch 43 “as all civil cases raffled” to the Quezon City court were forwarded to the Manila court pursuant to a Supreme Court Resolution for the designation of “assisting courts.”

“Based on the allegations, defendants’ stay on the property is based on tolerance. Defendants’ occupation of the property was initially lawful but later on turned out as illegal due to their refusal to vacate the property after lawful demand,” the Decision said.

The defendants were expelled from the INC on July 23, 2015 for “grave violation” of the INC’s doctrines.

With the expulsion, the INC asserted that the defendants have lost their privilege to stay on the property.

On December 28, 2015, the INC sent the defendants a “notice of termination with demand to vacate the property.”

When the defendants refused to receive the notice, the said notice was posted on the gate of the property fence in the presence of barangay officials of New Era, Quezon City.

Another letter dated January 14, 2016, demanded the defendants to vacate the property with insistence for payment of reasonable compensation for the use of the INC property. When the defendants again refused to acknowledge receipt of the letter, the notice was again posted at the 36. T. Sora gate and also sent through registered mail.

Even with these legal notices, Lottie and Angel, including their companions, still refused to vacate the Church property, and instead openly challenged the INC Church Administration.

In its decision, the court noted that the INC has complied with all the requirements provided by law in such cases.

“The formal demands to vacate posted and sent to defendants as the filing of this suit, are categorical acts on the part of the plaintiff showing that its withdrawal of permission to having defendants to stay on the property,” it said.

“Notwithstanding, defendants have regrettably failed to vacate the premises and surrender the same to plaintiff,” the court noted.

INC spokesperson minister Edwil Zabala said that the INC “followed the procedures laid down by law” and that the court’s decision was a “vindication” for the Church.

“The Court has resolved in favor of the Church ordering the occupants of 36 Tandang Sora to immediately vacate the premises they unlawfully detain. We have stood by the position that the facts as supported by evidence would give vindication to the Church,” he said.

“We are now studying the enforcement of the decision in the said ejectment case,” Zabala added.

EAGLE NEWS: http://www.eaglenews.ph/court-orders-eviction-of-occupants-of-inc-property-at-36-tandang-sora/

However, INC expects illegal occupants of 

36 T. Sora to leave peacefully

Video Part 1

Video Part 2

NC EXPECTS ILLEGAL OCCUPANTS

OF 36. T. SORA INC PROPERTY

TO LEAVE PEACEFULLY

(Eagle News) – The Iglesia Ni Cristo said it is expecting the illegal occupants led by expelled INC members Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo and his sister, Lolita “Lottie” Hemedez to peacefully leave the premises of 36 Tandang Sora Avenue in Quezon City, now that no less than the court has directed them to “immediately vacate” the INC property.

In a press conference held at the Eagle Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) in Quezon City, INC spokesperson minister Edwil Zabala and lawyer for the INC, Atty. Moises Tolentino Jr., said that the favorable decision of the Manila metropolitan trial court dated May 26, 2016 was “immediately executory.”

“We hope they would leave peacefully the compound now that there is a court decision,” Zabala said during the presscon.

“We waited for five months for this Decision.  We did abide by the procedures laid down by the law,” he said.

In a six-page decision dated May 26, 2016, Presiding Judge Anne Perpetual Rivera-Sia of the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) branch 12 ordered Angel Manalo and Lottie Hemedez to immediately vacate the INC property at 36 Tandang Sora Avenue in Quezon City.

The court also ordered the two to immediately surrender the property to the INC.

Zabala said INC lawyers received the decision on Thursday, June 16.

“We gladly welcome this recent decision as another vindication of the Church,” he said.

Lawyer Tolentino said that under the Rules, “a judgment on an unlawful detainer case is immediately executory”.

“Proper steps will be taken,” he said.

On June 24, Friday, the court will hear the motion for the execution of judgment.

“We will wait for the issuance of the writ of execution and that is what we are asking the court through the motion that will be heard on June 24.  We expect this to be issued  soon,” Atty. Tolentino said.  “We cannot say the exact date but it will not take long.”

The INC lawyer explained that no motion for reconsideration is allowed in an “unlawful detainer” case which was the case filed by the INC against Angel Manalo and Lottie Hemedez in February this year.  The INC originally filed an eviction case on January 14, 2016, but amended it on February 17 into an unlawful detainer suit.

“Based on the allegations, defendants’ stay on the property is based on tolerance.  Defendants’ occupation of the property was initially lawful but later on turned out as illegal due to their refusal to vacate the property after lawful demand,” the Decision said.

The defendants were expelled from the INC on July 23, 2015 for “grave violation” of the INC’s doctrines.

With the expulsion, the INC asserted that the defendants have lost their privilege to stay on the property.

Up to now, the INC also has no idea of the number and identity of unauthorized persons inside its own compound since even INC security guards are also prevented by the illegal occupants from entering the INC property they are occupying, Zabala and Tolentino both stressed.

The INC has earlier filed an injunction case against the defendants with a Quezon City court that sought to ban the entry of unknown and unauthorized  inviduals from entering the INC premises.

With the Manila court’s decision in the “unlawful detainer” case, however, this injunction case is rendered “moot and academic,” Tolentino explained.

Tolentino also hopes that the defendants would just leave the INC premises peacefully, and abide by the decision of the court.

“I don’t think they will resist, because this time, it is already the full force of the law that they will be challenging,” he said.

SOURCE: http://www.eaglenews.ph/inc-expects-illegal-occupants-of-36-t-sora-inc-property-to-leave-peacefully/