DOJ’s handling of Napoles’ and INC’s detention cases

With all the evidence piling up against the leadership of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), the Department of Justice should soon come up with a resolution on the nonbailable charges of serious illegal detention.

First it was expelled INC minister Isaias Samson Jr. and his family who complained of being detained and held incommunicado. Now comes expelled INC minister Lowell Menorca and his family. Under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code, the penalty of life imprisonment is imposable on any private person who “kidnaps or detains” another for a period of more than five days. And that is for every person detained. In the present charges, the INC bigwigs are being charged of detaining several persons for more than a month already! But no one is really holding his breath!

It seems the relatives of the victims have to air their appeal for speedy relief through the media  (“Kin of ‘detained’ Iglesia ex-minister seek SC help,” Metro, 10/22/15). This latest resort to the Supreme Court was clearly calculated to stoke media’s waning attention as the DOJ seems to be stalling and tiptoeing around their cases, obviously for fear of “offending” the very influential religious group. And they can forget about obtaining relief from the Supreme Court whose members kowtow to that group.

Remember how many of them joined former chief justice Renato Corona in seeking the INC’s help during the impeachment trial against him?

Recall, too, how swiftly the DOJ acted on the nonbailable charge of serious illegal detention filed by Benhur Luy against Janet Lim Napoles who was expendable. Prosecutors had no problem locking her up and throwing away the key!

The contrast is glaring. This time, there’s a problem. They are facing a wall of granite! It seems the appeals by the Samson and Menorca families for media support may be headed nowhere—what with the next elections just around the corner, and the INC flexing its muscles and threatening to deploy its mindless members to vote only for its chosen candidates. Can the ruling Liberal Party, which controls the DOJ, afford to incur the ire of the INC? Such is realpolitik in this country.

—DINO CAPISTRANO, [email protected]