The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, Oct. 17, assured an impartial investigation into the sedition and inciting to sedition charges filed against 12 persons, one of them the lawyer of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo C. Quiboloy.
"We want to assure the public that our prosecutors are on top of the situation,” said DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla in a statement.
"This case ill be handled thoroughly with utmost diligence and fairness," Remulla assured.
On Thursday, Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) Director Police Brigadier General Nicolas D. Torre III filed before the DOJ the complaint against Quiboloy’s legal counsel, lawyer Israelito R. Torreon, and 11 other persons.
The DOJ noted that the complaint concerns the service of the arrest warrants being served by the PNP against Quiboloy and his co-accused who were ordered arrested on qualified human trafficking and child abuse charges.
It said the PNP was aggressively prevented by KOJC supporters by barricading their compound in Davao City, closing down national roads near the area, misleading and attacking police officers.
“Consequently, some policemen were severely injured in the performance of their functions as evidenced in their affidavits submitted to the DOJ,” it said citing the PNP-CIDG complaint.
It also said the complaint alleged that “KOJC members set tires ablaze, sprayed fire extinguishers at policemen, threw at them expired food, solid wastes, monobloc chairs and stones leading some officers to sustain injuries.”
“Meanwhile, the CIDG also included inciting to sedition charges against respondent Atty. Torreon and other broadcast personalities/vloggers such as former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Spokesperson Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, Lord Byron Cristobal aka ‘Banat By,’ among others following the posting of reportedly seditious videos by SMNI in their Facebook page,” it noted.