Led by police escorts, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, preacher of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above All Names, Inc. exits the PNP Multipurpose hall for the DILG-PNP press conference following his surrender to authorities. —Inquirer photo/Lyn Rillon
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Religious leader Apollo Quiboloy is now in police custody, but that hasn’t stopped his followers from concocting incredible stories about where their leader had concealed himself for weeks, while evading authorities armed with a heartbeat-detecting device.
On Sunday, the televangelist emerged from hiding and turned himself in to the authorities inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) compound here, ending a 16-day quest to serve arrest warrants for child sexual abuse and human trafficking charges to the self-proclaimed “appointed Son of God.”
But his followers seemed bent on preserving the air of mystery around Quiboloy’s hiding place.
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One tale goes that he traveled from Kidapawan City, Cotabato province, some 60 kilometers away, so he could present himself to Police Brig. Gen. Romeo Macapaz, chief of the Philippine National Police’s Intelligence Group, and Maj. Gen. Edmundo Peralta, chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Quiboloy, according to his followers, had hoped to end the “desecration” of KJC’s sacred grounds.
But there were no details about when he made the trip, which vehicle he rode, who were with him and which gate he used to enter the well-guarded compound.
Nebulous
Another tale, from Quiboloy’s legal counsel Israelito Torreon, was more nebulous.
Torreon, speaking to KJC-affiliated SMNI News on Monday, claimed that the pastor, worried about the prospect of violence breaking out, had made the “ultimate sacrifice” by surrendering.
“Galing siyang bundok (He came from the mountain), no, whether you believe it or not,” Torreon said.
“He entered the compound to check on his followers, and he informed them that he has to surrender, that this has to end, and that the welfare of his members is most important,” the lawyer said.
Torreon disputed the account of Police Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, ground commander of the arrest operation, that Quiboloy “was just strolling about [in the compound].”
By Torre’s account, nine vehicles left the hangar of Apollo Air, past 5 p.m. on Sunday, proceeding to the Philippine Air Force’s Tactical Operations Group-11 where a C-130 was parked.
It was the same one that ferried Quiboloy and his coaccused Ingrid Canada, Cresente Canada, Jackielyn Roy and Sylvia Cemañes to Manila at past 6 p.m.
During the flight, Torreon said Quiboloy told him that he entered the KJC compound and met with the sect’s leaders. “As to how he did it, I did not bother to ask anymore because I was seated next to General Macapaz,” he said.
But for the PNP, there was no mystery about Quiboloy’s hiding spot.
In Manila, its spokesperson Police Col. Jean Fajardo said negotiations for the surrender began at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, after the police gave KJC a 24-hour ultimatum ahead of a plan to storm a building that had been kept off-limits to the arresting officers.
Fajardo was referring to the ACQ College of Ministry, also referred to as the Bible School Building, from where, according to Torre, Quiboloy eventually came out.
Assault plan
Torre said that as early as Saturday, police were already preparing an assault on the building where Quiboloy was presumed to be hiding.
At least 500 Special Forces surrounded the building and another 500 secured the Jose Maria College building across it.
However, the operation was postponed as the bar examinations were to be held the next day.
“We played recordings which said, ‘We are searching for Pastor Quiboloy our way because for two weeks it was always your way,’” said Torre.
At 10 a.m., he learned that “feelers” had been sent to the national headquarters about the pastor’s surrender, so he delayed the planned assault by two hours.
“We thought at first that we were taken for a ride,” Torre said. But soon, there were signs that indicated a surrender was indeed going to take place.
At 3 p.m., Torre sent two trusted officers to Quiboloy’s camp. “When [the C-130] plane landed, we immediately transitioned for prisoner transport,” he said.
“Everything just fell into place. It was resolved peacefully and successfully,” he added.
Later, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos explained that one of the pastor’s conditions for surrender was “not to see Torre’s face.”
Thus, Police Col. Hansel Marantan, Davao City police chief, and Macapaz were sent to accompany Quiboloy aboard the C-130, en route to Villamor Air Base.