The chief of the Talipapa Police Station in Quezon city yesterday denied the allegations of lawyer Trixie Angeles that she and her staff were manhandled during the attempt to seize five vehicles inside the contested Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) compound in Tandang Sora, Quezon City Tuesday night.
Supt. Victor Pagulayan said no such incident was reported to him. “Di po totoo yun. Ang role po ng pulis doon ay mag-assist lang sa order ng korte, sheriff po ang nagexecute nun. Wala naman rin pong nagreklamo sa amin na nagkasakitan,” Pagulayan said.
He said the police were there to assist the sheriff serving a writ of replevin to get five cars inside No. 36 Tandang Sora Street where the estranged siblings of INC Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo are staying.
The police officer said there was no attempt to evict the Manalo siblings.
“Hindi po, yun po ay order para ilabas lang yung limang sasakyan sa loob. Ginamitan po ng backhoe kasi hindi po magkasya. Sa bakod na idinaan,” he said.
He also explained the barricades around the compound are also out of their jurisdiction.
The station chief, however, said police would not allow violence to occur, nor would allow a security guard to handcuff a civilian.
“Definitely, no. Illegal detention po yan,” he said.
Pagulayan added that only four cops from PS-3 were dispatched in the area. No armed or masked men were also relayed to him by PS-3 cops.
If a commotion had happened, he urged Angeles to file her complaint before the police.
“Kung may nabugbog man po ay very welcome naman po ang station for complaints, ipakita lang po nila yung medical certificate. Pero, so far po, wala pa pong lumalapit sa amin,” he said.
In a statement Wednesday, INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala said: “We received a favorable order granting our replevin case for INC cars still inside. As far as I know, the RTC handed the order to the sheriff and we cooperated with him.”
He said there are 16 more vehicles inside the compound that they seek to recover from their expelled members.
(VANNE TERRAZOLA)