Sen. Imee R. Marcos (Office of Sen. Marcos/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos said Davao City felt like a warzone the day that policemen conducted their latest arrest attempt against fugitive televangelist and alleged rapist Apollo Quiboloy.
Marcos, who happened to be in Davao City at the time of the operation, told reporters on Wednesday about her on-the-ground experience on June 10.
For her, the presence of many arresting authorities was nerve-wracking.
“Aaminin ko, dumaan ako sa Davao eksakto noon — noong araw na ‘yun. Nandoon ako sa Davao at ako ay nasindak kasi ang dami-daming Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) [at] Criminal Investigation and Detection Group ( CIDG) sa airport. Isang katerba yung mga Special Action Force (SAF) battalion. Nakita ko yung dalawa, tatlo ba na Philippine National Police helicopter — may kasama pang drone,” said Marcos in a press conference.
(I must admit, I passed through Davao exactly that day. I was there in Davao, and I was shocked because there were a lot of SWAT [and] CIDG at the airport. There is also an SAF battalion. I saw two, maybe three PNP helicopters—there was also a drone.)
“May mga sniper pa sa tuktok ng mga building — ako ay natakot. Talaga namang kakabahan ka nang todo at yung Davao City naging pawang warzone. Bakit naman nagkaganun? Kinailangan ba talaga ‘yun?” she wondered.
(There were even snipers on top of the buildings — I was scared. You will be really nervous, and Davao City became like a warzone. Why did that happen? Was that really necessary?)
She later backed former President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks, saying that members of Quiboloy-led Sonshine Media Network “can fight for their rights in court.”
“Wag nang idaan sa pananakot at sa karahasan,” she said.
(There’s no need to use threats and violence.)
Duterte, a close friend of the senator, earlier lambasted the allegedly “excessive and unnecessary force” implemented by police in serving arrest warrants against Quiboloy.
READ: Imee Marcos to back Rodrigo Duterte ‘…even if I’m the only one left’
The former president even criticized the administration — headed by the senator’s younger brother — asking how constitutional rights of Filipinos will be upheld if “the most fundamental of these rights are being trampled upon and blatantly violated.”
READ: ‘Excessive, unnecessary force’ used in bid to get Quiboloy – Ex-Pres. Duterte
Quiboloy, who earlier admitted that he is hiding, is facing two separate arrest orders from Davao and Pasig courts.
The Supreme Court, however, granted the Department of Justice’s bid to transfer Quiboloy’s sexual abuse case from a court in Davao to Quezon City to avoid a miscarriage of justice.
Apart from these, the Senate panel on women headed by Hontiveros is likewise seeking Quiboloy’s arrest.