DAVAO CITY – Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte criticized the excessive and unnecessary force employed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in serving the arrest warrant against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and five others on Monday.
“I strongly condemn the use of excessive and unnecessary force in serving the warrant of arrest for Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ by police officers who are not even from Davao City,” Duterte said.
The former Chief Executive said the incident occurred within a place of worship and on school premises which was absolutely unacceptable. He also questioned if this overkill would be the trademark of the current administration when dealing with individuals who are accused of crimes.
Duterte emphasized that Quiboloy and his co-respondents were accused of committing crimes but have not been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt so far.
Quiboloy is facing non-bailable qualified human trafficking charges before a court in Pasig City. He also faces charges under Section 5(b) of the Republic Act 7610 or The Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act and Section 10(a) of RA 7610 before a court here.
The pastor has denied the allegations against him.
Duterte criticized the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for allegedly failing to protect the constitutional rights of Filipinos and wondered if they would exhibit the same lack of self-restraint shown to critics of the administration when dealing with supporters.
“How can this administration guarantee the preservation of the constitutional rights of our fellow Filipinos when even the most fundamental of these rights are being trampled upon and blatantly violated?” Duterte said.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Special Action Force (SAF) swooped down on the KOJC compound in Buhangin District and other properties of the controversial pastor here on Monday, June 10, to serve the arrest warrant.
However, police failed to arrest Quiboloy and his co-respondents as they could not be found.
Lawyer Israelito Torreon, legal counsel of the KOJC, said in an interview via SMNI that police forcibly entered and destroyed the gate of the Glory Mountain even though they did not have a search warrant.
Torreon said he was surprised because it was early in the morning on Monday and there was a lot of noise, prompting him to rush to the area. When he arrived, he asked the CIDG representative and their lawyer if they had a search warrant but they said they had none, only an arrest warrant.
“It’s not a search warrant but an arrest warrant. A search warrant is very limited. It must specify the particular place to be searched and describe the items to be seized,” Torreon said in the local dialect.
He said that three KOJC members were handcuffed because they allegedly had machetes. He added that Glory Mountain is in rural areas and those handcuffed were farmers.
Torreon said the police operation might have gone beyond the law. He added that authorities could have contacted him to discuss the matter and not result in what they believed was a bit of overkill which was improper according to the rules.
In a video footage from SMNI, Quiboloy's supporters sprayed authorities with water as they tried to enter the compound. The policemen entered KOJC in search of Quiboloy, who is considered a fugitive from justice and five others accused of three crimes.
The Police Regional Office-11 said in a statement that their action underscores their commitment to uphold the rule of law. It also emphasized that their action followed the court's lawful order and due process to address these severe charges.