3 Apollo Quiboloy supporters arrested for assaulting cops

At 2 p.m., police prepare to enter the KJC Compound in what Brig. General Nicolas Torre III calls as the second phase of the operation. —Photo by Germelina Lacorte | Inquirer Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines — Three supporters of Apollo Quiboloy were arrested for obstruction of justice and direct assault against members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), according to Davao City Police.

PNP Davao Region spokesperson Major Catherine dela Rey, in a radio interview on Monday, said the assault happened while Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) members were staging a rally on Sunday evening against the PNP’s latest attempt to arrest Quiboloy, who is facing charges of human trafficking and child abuse.

READ: 2,000 cops comb Quiboloy turf; chief vows no letup

“Right now, we have arrested three people for obstruction of justice and direct assault because we have police colleagues who were injured last night during the rally they did,” dela Rey said over Radyo 630.

She said KJC members became “aggressive” and even recruited non-members to join their rally.

“They have recruited other people to join them. What the police did was to employ maximum tolerance,” said dela Rey.

“Until now, we are still asking them to remove the vehicles blocking the road, and if they don’t really agree, we can resort to dispersal,” she added.

At present, dela Rey said more or less 200 rallyists are still roaming around the compound.

A winged van, two cranes, and a firetruck are still blocking the road, making both sides of the national highway in front of the KJC compound in Buhangin District, Davao City, impassable.

While KJC members secured a permit to hold a prayer and candle-lighting rally, dela Rey noted that they still violated the pass given to them by the city government of Davao.

“What was written in the permit is that they will conduct it inside the KJC Compound, but what they did — they did it on the highway and there was no candle lighting but they burned tires,” dela Rey explained.

But until when will maximum tolerance be implemented? Dela Rey said she has no updated information about yet.

“As of now, I do not have any information on what time the rallyists will be dispersed or the vehicles blocking the road will be removed,” she said.

“I hope that the KJC members, as they claimed that they are law-abiding citizens, will show that they are law-abiding citizens by removing those blocking the way and allowing the right of others to pass on the highway,” she noted.

Earlier, Police Regional Office – Davao Director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III said fugitive televangelist Quiboloy was still inside the compound, revealing the discovery of a bunker where he and his accomplices could be hiding.

Authorities first raided the area last June 10, but they failed to arrest him at that time as members of the religious sect prevented them from entering the compound.

READ: ‘Excessive, unnecessary force’ used in bid to get Quiboloy – Ex-Pres. Duterte

Quiboloy is facing two separate arrest orders from the 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 actions, the Senate panel on women headed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros is likewise seeking Quiboloy’s arrest.