‘UNUSUAL FORCE’ Davao City police gather outside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) Compound on Saturday in another attempt to arrest the sect’s leader, who is wanted in the United States for sex trafficking charges. Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday criticized the “gross abuse of police power in the takeover” of the compound. —Photos by Germelina Lacorte and Senate Social Media Unit
MANILA, Philippines — In yet another sign she has definitely burned her bridges with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday apologized to members of Apollo Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) for seeking their support for her running mate in the 2022 general elections as she also condemned the “gross abuse of police power” in the ongoing search for the fugitive televangelist in Davao City.
“This is why I am asking the forgiveness of all members and devotees of the KJC for pleading with you and requesting you to vote for Bongbong Marcos Jr. in 2022,” Duterte said in a statement. “You deserve better. Filipinos deserve better.”
The preacher, a close friend and “spiritual adviser” of Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is wanted in the United States for “conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; sex trafficking of children; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling” — charges also indicated in a wanted notice on Quiboloy posted on the website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Washington has an extradition treaty with Manila.
READ: 2,000 cops surround KJC complex, arrest warrant vs. Quiboloy served anew
Since Saturday, some 2,000 police officers using heartbeat and thermal scanners have been searching the massive KJC Compound for Quiboloy and four other sect members, who have been ordered arrested by the Davao and Pasig courts also on charges of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking.
While clarifying she was not opposed to the implementation of any “lawful” warrant of arrest, the vice president said what was unacceptable was the “use of violence against the innocent Filipinos and devotees of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
She also wondered if the “unnecessary force and unjustifiable abuse on ordinary Filipinos” was due to the fact that the person of interest in the raid was a well-known supporter of her family.
“These acts are not only a blatant violation of constitutionally protected rights but a betrayal of the trust that we, Filipinos, place in the very institution sworn to protect and serve us,” Duterte said.
Hiding place found?
On Sunday, Davao regional police chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said in a press briefing in Davao City that he was 100 percent confident Quiboloy was inside the KJC Compound, and with the aid of the ground penetrating device which could detect one’s heartbeat and body heat, they had finally detected a bunker where he could be hiding.
“It’s just a matter of time because we already see [his hiding place],” Torre said. “Maybe, Pastor Quiboloy will have the sense to surrender because it’s just a matter of time….”
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, in the same press conference with Torre, also told reporters the police would not leave the compound without the fugitive preacher.
Trafficking victims safe
He denied rumors they would cut off water and electricity in the compound to force Quiboloy out.
“We have to abide by human rights. We’re not going to do it, we’re not going to cut power and water connections in the area,” Marbil said.
“As to how long the police will stay in the area, we say, as long as we cannot serve the warrant of arrest and we are certain that the accused is inside. We have a legal basis, we can stay here as long as we want, especially right now that we have unearthed cases of human trafficking against these people. These will only add to the cases against them,” Marbil said.
He was referring to a 20-year-old man from Eastern Samar and a 50-year-old woman from Midsayap, Cotabato province, who were both rescued by the police at the KJC Compound with Department of Social Welfare and Development personnel on Sunday.
Their relatives had sought the help of authorities in securing their freedom. The man, then 17, had been recruited by the group in 2021 with the promise of a scholarship. The families of both victims had asked that their identities be withheld for security reasons.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), for its part, reminded the PNP to exercise maximum tolerance and ensure the safety of Filipinos, especially children, while at the same time, urging KJC members to respect state forces.
The CHR said it was monitoring the police operation through its regional office in Davao and even disclosed that some KJC members had threatened and harassed a special investigator from CHR Davao Region.
It reminded both parties to “ensure that due process, as guaranteed by our Constitution, prevails and that everyone allows the judicial process to run its course.”
Excessive force
Senators Imee Marcos and Christopher Go, meanwhile, condemned what they described as an “excessive show of force” by the PNP.
“I condemn in the strongest terms… the deployment of 2,000 police personnel to raid the KOJC premises [which] is both unwarranted and unjustified,” Marcos said in a statement.
Go, in a separate statement on his social media account, acknowledged that while it was the duty of the PNP to implement the law, he condemned the violence that marred its operation.