MANILA, Philippines - A petition for a writ of amparo filed by expelled minister Lowell Menorca II against leaders of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is up in the air after he left the country with his family earlier this month.
Menorca again failed to attend the hearing on his case in the Court of Appeals (CA) yesterday and testify on his allegations of abduction, harassment and illegal detention against leaders of the influential church.
He failed to appear before the seventh division of the appellate court in a hearing on March 7 after leaving the country the night before the scheduled hearing, reportedly after receiving threats.
In yesterday’s hearing, Menorca’s lawyer, Trixie Cruz-Angeles, told the court she was not aware of where her client currently is since their last communication was through e-mail on March 8.
When he and his family flew to Vietnam, Menorca has claimed that he would be back in the country on March 20.
Because of his flight and failure to appear in hearings, the CA justices ordered the parties to file their respective position papers on whether the case should still be heard given the continuing absence of petitioner.
They gave the lawyers of Menorca and INC officials two days or until tomorrow to comply with the order.
No more excuses?
Patricia-Ann Prodigalidad, who represents the INC officials, said they would again seek the dismissal of the petition.
“It’s becoming clear that Mr. Menorca is hiding from the court, and is running out of excuses for doing so. How else can you explain his successive non-appearance? The CA was correct in denying his lawyer’s motion to have another witness substitute for him. He should be the one testifying on this matter he himself brought before the Court of Appeals,” she said.
The CA has set another hearing on March 28 before possibly deciding on the case.