DILG Sec. Benjamin Abalos Jr. (left) and fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy. —INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo; X/Apollo Quiboloy
MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and a lawyer of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) had a heated argument at the Senate over the P10 million reward raised for anyone who would have information about the whereabouts of fugitive Apollo Quiboloy.
KJC legal counsel Atty. Israelito Torreon, during the Senate panel on dangerous drugs’ Tuesday hearing on the “excessive force” allegedly used by the Philippine National Police within the church’s compound, insisted that it is illegal for any public official to accept or solicit money.
Torreon was accusing DILG chief Abalos of committing such after the latter announced that a P10 million reward is up for anyone who can provide Quiboloy’s location.
READ: P10-M reward offered for info on Quiboloy
According to Abalos, the reward will be shouldered by “friends who would like to help in arresting” Quiboloy. He, however, declined to name the donors, saying they had chosen to stay anonymous and were “frustrated about what’s happening” in the case of Quiboloy who is wanted for human trafficking and child sexual abuse charges.
READ: DOJ defends P10-M reward for info leading to Quiboloy’s arrest
“If we read the law, the clear letters of the law state [that] public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept directly or indirectly. Even indirect acceptance, your honor, is covered within the great prohibition under Section 7D [of Republic Act No. 6713]. And what are those? Disallowed to be indirectly accepted or solicited: any gift, gratuity, honor, entertainment, loan, or anything of monetary value,” said Torreon.
According to the KJC legal counsel, the fact that the secretary “entertained the reward is in effect an indirect favor” that he granted upon the person unidentified to put up this award.
“And this is even made grave in the light of the fact that this was done in the course of his official duty as the supposed implementer of the law,” said Torreon.
“He is the secretary of interior and local government who manages the entire gamut of government operations in so far as law enforcement is concerned. He should have high moral as well as legal ethics to refuse such favor—directly or indirectly because public office is a public trust. Any air of suspicion must be prevented to be accorded to him,” he added.
After Torreon’s strong accusations, a calm but evidently irked Abalos laid out three things:
- He never solicited any money for the reward and to date he has not received any single centavo of it
- The Department of Justice already stated that putting up regards is legal
- The issue at hand is happening because Quiboloy continues to evade arrest
“It will only stop if he faces this and what you were saying earlier, what I’m saying is clear—he seemed to be innocent until his guilt is proven,” said Abalos.
Still, Torreon insisted that public officials like Abalos shall not solicit or “accept directly or indirectly.”
“The fact that he announced it even if we say that he did not physically accept the money, but offering the award is already an indirect acceptance of that favor,” he added.
At this point, Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty butted in, pointing out that the passage that Torreon kept on raising was, in fact, pertaining to bribe.
“This reward [or] the money that may be given to the DILG is being interpreted by Atty. Torreon as a bribe. This is not a bribe, it is clear from the law that it would be a bribe if it was given or offered for a favor,” said Ty.
Prior to Torreon’s outburst, the DOJ already made clear that the provision of P10 million reward to anyone with information that may lead to the capture of Quiboloy is legal.