Court: TPO doesn’t nullify PNP’s serving of arrest warrant vs Quiboloy

Apollo Quiboloy FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A Davao court on Wednesday clarified that the Temporary Protection Order (TPO) issued to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) “did not cancel or nullify” the Philippine National Police’s serving of arrest warrants to its founder, fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, and others.

According to the Davao Regional Trial Court Branch 15, both the TPO and police operations “serve different purposes and are not contradictory to each other.”

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

The court also said that the issuance of a warrant of arrest should be necessary and reasonable.

“Any act beyond its usual prescription must be with judicial imprimatur before it is carried out. Otherwise, the rights sought to be protected by the TPO will be put to naught,” it added.

READ: DOJ calls protection order ‘moot,’ backs PNP raid at KJC compound

The same court, on Tuesday, issued a TPO in favor of the KJC, ordering the police to stop any act that “threatens the life, liberty, or security” of the religious group’s members.

This is following a raid by around 2,000 police on the 30-hectare KJC compound last Saturday aimed at locating Quiboloy.

In a statement on August 28, the Department of Justice called the TPO “moot and academic” and asserted that police operations were conducted lawfully based on a legal order from a co-equal court.