Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Pastor Apollo Quiboloy (Photos by Richard Reyes and official page of Senator Bong Go)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) could now confiscate the firearms of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy based on the cases lodged against him, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Monday.
Quiboloy faces two arrest orders from the Davao and Pasig courts for sexual abuse and human trafficking charges.
A separate warrant of arrest was also issued by the Senate Committee on Women, headed by Hontiveros, after it investigated other human rights violations hurled at Quiboloy and his Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC).
“The PNP should stop making excuses. If they’re truly our allies in holding Quiboloy accountable for his insults to our institutions, they should do everything they can to capture him,” she said in Filipino in a statement,
“And one way to do it is the retrieval of weapons, especially of a fugitive.”
The senator cited the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the PNP.
According to her, the IRR clearly states that the “legal disability” or the loss by the licensee of the legal qualification or capacity to own and possess firearms includes the “pendency of a criminal case with [an] imposable penalty of more than 2 years.”
“With the number and severity of Quiboloy’s pending cases, his firearms could already be confiscated,” she said.
“For his human trafficking case alone, the penalty is nonbailable and carryies a lifetime imprisonment. So what else is the PNP waiting for? The delay is perplexing,” she added.
PNP previously confirmed that Quiboloy owns 19 assorted firearms.
His ownership of these weapons had nothing to do, however, with the cases filed against him, the PNP’s spokesperson, Col. Jean Fajardo, was quoted as saying.
Hontiveros, meanwhile, found it incredulous that the PNP has no knowledge about Quiboloy’s alleged private army.
“Netizens know that he has a private army. Yet our own police force doesn’t know? That’s impossible,” she said.
Hontiveros repeated her appeal to the newly-installed PNP chief, Gen. Rommel Marbil “to lead better.”
“The PNP should work on canceling his weapons. They should do it quickly,” she said.