SC clarifies TPO issuance at Quiboloy compound: Arrest warrant remains

BLOCKING FORCE After blocking a stretch of a highway with trucks and other vehicles on August 25, 2024, Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) members stage a rally outside the sect’s headquarters in Davao City, to protest a raid on the compound to search for fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy. Police dispersed them on August 26, 2024. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GERMELINA LACORTE

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has confirmed the issuance of a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) against the police operations conducted at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) compound in Davao City but clarified that this “does not deter” the service of the arrest warrants against fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy and others.

According to SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting, the Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 issued the TPO, which was prompted by the petition for the writ of amparo filed by the religious sect and Jose Maria College Foundation (JMCF) against the police force and Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr.

READ: Quiboloy’s KJC wins relief: Cops told to stand down in court order

“The PNP was ordered to remove all forms of barricades, barriers, and blockades that bar access to and from the [KJC] and JMCFI compound and hinder petitioners’ religious, academic, and proprietary rights,” Ting told reporters on Tuesday.

“This does not deter the service of the warrant,” she added.

The TPO follows the August 24 police operation, where 2,000 members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) raided the 30-hectare compound of the KJC to serve arrest warrants to Quiboloy.

Under the order, police were ordered to stop any act that “threatens the life, liberty or security” of the religious group’s members.

“This court, under the current situation, sees the urgency to direct the PNP XI to immediately cease and desist from any act or omission that threatens the life, liberty or security as well as the properties of the petitioners,” the three-page order reads.

Likewise, Abalos said the TPO “did not specifically say that the police must stop the operation,” adding that they will file a petition to clarify the order.

For her part, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said they received a copy of the TPO but clarified that police will not leave the KJC compound.

Aside from the raid, authorities also rescued two alleged victims of human trafficking from the KJC compound on Sunday.

Moreover, the religious sect members conducted a protest and “intentionally blocked” the national highway in front of their compound along Bunganin District until the exit of Davao International Airport.

Earlier, Davao police said they are “more than confident” that Quiboloy is still inside the compound.