Vice President Sara Duterte supports calls for just and humane law enforcement in relation to what she called a “questionable” display of force and authority during the serving of arrest warrants against fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy and five others. Photo from Inday Sara Duterte’s Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers have rebuked Vice President Sara Duterte for apologizing to Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) members for asking them to vote for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022, saying it is a “clear attempt to deflect” from the issue that KJC’s leader Apollo Quiboloy must submit to the law.
In a joint statement on Sunday, members of the House of Representatives so-called “young guns” said Duterte should ensure that fugitive Quiboloy faces justice.
Last Aug. 24, 2,000 policemen entered the KJC compound in Buhangin District, Davao City to serve arrest warrants against Quiboloy and other leaders of KJC.
READ: VP Duterte condemns latest KJC raid, asks forgiveness for Marcos vote plea
“This is a clear attempt to deflect from the real issue at hand, which is Quiboloy’s refusal to submit to the law. Instead of apologizing for political choices, the Vice President should be focusing on ensuring that her ally faces justice,” said Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jay Khonghun.
“It’s disheartening to see Vice President Duterte try to shift the narrative by invoking her role in the last election. The reality is that this situation is about holding a fugitive accountable for his actions, not about who voted for whom in 2022,” Assistant Majority Leader and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V said.
They also pointed out that the Philippine National Police (PNP) was enforcing a court order, and attempts “to paint this as harassment or abuse is misleading and irresponsible.”
“The PNP was simply doing its job by enforcing a valid arrest warrant against Quiboloy and his cohorts, who are facing serious charges,” Ortega said.
“To call this an ‘abuse of power’ is a gross mischaracterization of the situation. The police were acting within the bounds of the law, and any confrontation that ensued was the result of resistance from within the compound, not police overreach,” he added.
Ortega urged Duterte to back the PNP and uphold justice.
Duterte told: Help authorities enforce arrest warrants vs Quiboloy
Meanwhile, other members of the “young guns” backed former Senator Leila de Lima’s advice to Vice President Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) De Lima said: “What is illegal about enforcing valid arrest warrants? At sayo pa talaga nanggaling ito? Kapal ng mukha! Bakit hindi ka na lang tumulong sa mga awtoridad?!”
(And this came from you? Shameless! Why not help authorities?!)
“We support Sen. De Lima’s pronouncement that ex-President Duterte should be helping authorities enforce the warrant of arrest against his ally, Apollo Quiboloy. As a former president, he should be all for upholding the law at all times, no exceptions,” Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre said in a statement.
“We hope the former president refrains from issuing statements that tend to sow confusion and divide the Filipino nation based on a very faulty line of reasoning. How can one argue against a legitimate operation of law enforcement agencies?” he added.
Assistant Majority Leader Jil Bongalon agreed, saying the former president should be the last to react to the operation against Quiboloy.
“Alam nating lahat na kaibigang matalik ng dating pangulo ang object ng arrest warrant na ito. Hindi ba dapat pairalin na lamang ang delikadeza at ‘wag na siyang magsalita tungkol dito?” he asked.
(We all know that the object of this arrest warrant is a close friend of the former president. Shouldn’t he just conduct himself with propriety and stop talking about it?)