Court denies Quiboloy’s petition for house arrest
Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy | INQUIRER / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — A Pasig court has denied the request of detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy to be placed under house arrest.
In a four-page order, the Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 159 said it found no compelling justification to grant the petition of the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) religious sect.
In an order signed on March 12 by acting Presiding Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa, she said that “mere conjectures regarding the potential deterioration of [the petitioner’s] health, while in detention, are insufficient to justify the grant of house arrest.”
READ: Apollo Quiboloy has been arrested – DILG chief Abalos
READ: TIMELINE: From Senate probe, filing of cases, to Quiboloy’s arrest
Earlier, Quiboloy asked that he be detained either at the Garden of Eden Restored in Tamayong, Davao City; the KOJC compound in Novaliches, Quezon City; or Tagaytay City.
He invoked the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, as additional grounds for his request. But the court said the rules named after the late South African president were “not intended to establish a legal foundation” for house arrest, but to promote humane treatment of prisoners.
