The long road to safety for ex-INC refugee claimants
Two years after the controversy in the Iglesia ni Cristo broke out, ex-members Lowell Menorca II and Rovic Canono have filed refugee claims in Canada. One has been successful so far.
By Rappler
For Menorca, the road for his refugee claim has been a long one. Since he fled the Philippines with his family, Menorca said he had had to be careful as he went from country to country, first to Vietnam, then to Thailand.
Fearing that he was being followed and monitored – photos of him and his family in Vietnam had earlier surfaced on social media – Menorca took precautions on his way to Canada, wearing a face mask and a hat to avoid being recognized.
From some of his relatives in Canada, Menorca learned that he was already being expected at the airport. When he arrived in Vancouver in April 2016, he waited until the crowd had passed before making his way to immigration authorities and said he was applying for a refugee claim.
Menorca was led to a different room, where the initial interview took around 10 hours.
“They were trying to see how cohesive the story is, trying to look for lies, deception in whatever I’m saying. They were trained to detect if there is malicious intent with those claiming asylum,” he said. READ MORE
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