Former local government secretary Benjamin D. Abalos Jr. and eight current and retired officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been cleared of the charges filed during the operation to arrest Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy.

Dismissed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) were the charges filed by former president Rodrigo R. Duterte as KOJC administrator. Duterte charged Abalos and the other respondents with alleged malicious mischief and violation of domicile under Articles 327 and 128, respectively, of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).

“A judicious evaluation of the complaints, the supporting affidavits, the respondents’ counter-affidavits, and applicable legal principles reveals that the present complaints are bereft of the essential elements required to establish probable cause for either of the crimes charged,” stated the resolution issued by Assistant State Prosecutor Angelica A. Laygo-Francisco.

The resolution also stated: “The records are barren of any factual or legal basis to sustain the prosecution of the herein respondents for the offenses charged. The totality of the evidence fails to show that they personally committed or directed the commission of either Malicious Michief or Violation Domicile. Their actions, as alleged, fall within the realm of lawful performance of duty and are protected by the presumption of regularity in official functions.”

Thus, the resolution ruled that “absent any overt act that constitutes an element of the crimes charged, and in the absence of malice, unlawful intent, or personal participation, this Office finds no probable cause exists to warrant the indictment of the respondents.”

Aside from Abalos, the other respondents were Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil, Police Major General Ronald Oliver Lee, Police Brigadier General Aligre Martinez, Police Colonel Edwin Potento, Police Colonel Joselito Clarito, Police Lieutenant Colonel Lino Akiangan, Police Major General Mark Pespes, and retired Police Brigadier General Ricardo Layug Jr.

Duterte’s complaints arose from the PNP’s operation to arrest of Quiboloy inside the KOJC compound in Davao City on June 10, 2024 based on the arrest warrants issued by the courts against the pastor who is facing charges of qualified human trafficking and sexual assault committed against a 17-year-old girl in 2011.

The complaints accused the respondents of malicious mischief for the alleged damages caused by police in forcing their way into the KOJC compound.

In dismissing the malicious mischief charges, the DOJ’s resolution stated that “the element of ‘malice’ is strikingly absent.”

“The Revised Penal Code requires that the act be motivated by ill will or a desire to cause damage for its own sake. No evidence–direct or circumstantial–has been offered to show that any of the respondents, much less those who were not physically present, acted with such malicious intent,” it said.

It added that “several of the respondents–including Secretary Abalos, PGen Marbil, and PMGen Lee–were not even present at the scene.”

In dismissing the alleged violation of domicile, the resolution stated: “In the instant case, no evidence has been presented that the police acted without such belief, or that the respondents entered any premises in patent defiance of the law.”

“Crucially, there is no allegation or proof that the high-ranking respondents entered any dwelling themselves. Absent any overt act constituting an element of the offense, criminal liability cannot be imputed upon them. Even assuming that unlawful entry occurred -- and that matter remains to be definitively established -- it would be the act of those who executed the entry, not of those who were uninvolved or far removed from the field of operation,” it pointed out.