DAVAO CITY – Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) legal counsel Israelito Torreon on Monday, August 26, decried the continuous occupation by the Philippine National Police of the premises of the religious group since August 24 and described the move as an illegal police operation.

QUIBOLOY

Three days ago, over 2,000 police officers stormed the KOJC compound to serve a warrant of arrest against Sylvia Cemañes, one of the co-accused of evangelist Apollo Quiboloy for child abuse and human trafficking.

But according to Torreon, the warrant of arrest presented by Police Regional Office-11 chief Police Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III stated that Cemañes' address is Pasig City.

Torreon reiterated that the police’s mission in serving the warrant of arrest has been completed. Thus, they have no legal basis in their prolonged stay, he said.

He said that the warrant of arrest is not a license for the police to conduct an unbridled search into a property owned by a different entity.

The lawyer said that it is a violation of the Rules of Court 113.

“This is the first time in the history of the Republic of the Philippines that a sole warrant of arrest is used to conduct an unbridled search and now destruction of the property,” Torreon pointed out, referring to the alleged plan of the police to bomb an alleged bunker inside the premises. “This is a severe violation of human rights of the members of the KOJC who owns the property.”

Torreon said that police are reportedly planning to bomb the elevator shaft of the Jose Maria Colleges law school because they believe the presence of a bunker in the basement where Quiboloy is hiding.

"We are demanding the police not to continue this illegal operation. When they served the warrant of arrest it did not include the search of the properties of KOJC,” Torreon said.

Torre has insisted that Quiboloy is hiding in a network of underground passages inside the 30-hectare property that sits beside the Davao International Airport in Buhangin District here.

The police general said they are employing a ground penetrating radar to locate Quiboloy.

But three days since the manhunt, police have yet to find the wanted evangelist and his co-accused.

KOJC members and police officers have been engaged in verbal confrontations and occasional shoving inside the compound.

Torreon chided the police for turning the group's place of worship and school into a garrison as lawmen are reportedly restricting KOJC members in going in and out of the premises.

He appealed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to order the pullout of police officers from the premises.

Torreon said that it was his first time to witness in his 26 years as a lawyer that a warrant of arrest is being used as a license by police officers to justify their prolonged stay in the premises. Torre vowed that they will not leave the premises until Quiboloy is captured.

Torreon said that police are planning to use explosives to access an underground bunker at the Jose Maria College (JMC)-College of Law here where the fugitive evangelist is believed to be hiding.

TORREON (FB)

In a press conference streamed live on his Facebook account, Torreon, JMC-College of Law dean, said that police are preparing to detonate explosives to open a portion of the school to reach the bunker where lawmen allegedly detected a heartbeat using ground-penetrating radars.

Torreon said police have no legal basis to detonate explosives at the private property owned not by Quiboloy but by his church.

Police Major Catherine dela Rey, Police Regional Office-Davao spokesperson, denied the plan. "Hindi po totoo sir. Just like na hindi totoo ang sinasabi nila na e-cut ang linya ng kuryente at tubig (Not true like their claim that electricity and water lines were cut)."

Torreon said he hopes that Police Gen. Rommel Marbil, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), and Torre, PRO-Davao head, will not push through with their plan as they do not have a court order to use explosives.

“Sa tingin namin hindi makatarungan dahil wala po itong legal basis under the law. They intend to bomb a portion of the JMC compound because of their belief that Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy ay nandun po sa isang bunker (We believe this is unjust because it has no legal basis under the law. They intend to bomb a portion of the JMC compound based on their belief that Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy is in a bunker there),” he said.

Torre said in a press conference on Sunday, August 25, that it is only a matter of time before they would apprehend Quiboloy as they discovered an underground bunker where he is believed to be hiding.

The PRO-Davao head said that he confident that they are close to arresting Quiboloy as the location of the bunker was detected by a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) device that could detect heartbeat, movement, and heat signature.

Torreon urged law enforcers to leave the premises of the KOJC compound as they have been staying there since Saturday and “cease and desist” from their “illegal” operations which violate the human rights of KOJC members.

He said that PRO-Davao showed him only a copy of the arrest warrant issued against Sylvia Cemañes, one of Quiboloy’s co-accused, with address in Pasig City, on Saturday, August 24.

Torreon said that police cannot conduct an “unbridled search” of the 30-hectare KOJC complex on the basis of the arrest warrant against Cemañes.

“Under Rule 113 of Rules of Court, a warrant of arrest addressed in Pasig City is not a license to conduct an unbridled search into the property owned by a different entity. This is the first-time ever in the history of the Republic of the Philippines that a warrant of arrest with an address in Pasig City, which has been shown to us, is being used to conduct an unbridled search, and now, destruction of the property of the KOJC,” he said.

Quiboloy is facing charges for alleged child abuse and qualified human trafficking, along with co-accused Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, Paulene Canada, Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes. Paulene was arrested last July 11 in her residence in Emily Homes Subdivision in Barangay Cabantian here.

They have two warrants of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court-Branch 12 in Davao City and RTC in Pasig City last April 3 and April 11, respectively.

The Supreme Court Second Division ordered the transfer of the two criminal cases from the Davao City RTC to the Quezon City RTC.