MORE policemen have been deployed at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City to aid in the search for fugitive pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused who are wanted for sexual abuse and human trafficking charges.
Brig. Gen. Rhoderick Alba, director of the Directorate for Police Community Relations, announced the deployment of additional policemen yesterday, on the fifth day of the police operation.
Alba said the augmentation force, coming from police units outside the Davao police regional office, is needed because the 2,000 policemen earlier sent to the KOJC compound is not enough to accomplish the mission.
“(They are needed) to secure (the compound), help in the implementation of the warrants of arrest. The area is so big, and the number (2,000) is not enough,” said Alba, adding that the Davao police regional office “don’t have enough human and materiel resources,” thus the deployment of the additional personnel from outside the region.
Alba has been designated as principal PNP spokesman in the ongoing search for Quiboloy and his co-accused.
Through rotation or shifting, Alba said the additional policemen will also allow policemen who have been working on an extended period since the manhunt started last Saturday to take a break.
Alba said that one of the challenges to the policemen involved in the operation is exhaustion. “Our personnel should not be awake for 24 hours. After 12 or 15 hours of work, they grow tired so they have to be replaced (so they can rest),” he said.
As to the number of additional policemen sent to KOJC, Alba said: “We cannot explicitly give the data but it’s just enough to replenish, provide rest to our personnel from PRO 11 (Police Regional Office Davao).”
The other challenge, aside from exhaustion, is the continuing resistance of KOJC members.
“Their behavior is really hostile,” said Alba, referring to hundreds of KOJC members inside and outside the compound.
Alba said the PNP has removed all the barricades at the vicinity of the KOJC as of two days ago, even before a Davao City court ordered their removal.
“When I arrived here (two days ago), there are no more barricades,” he said, adding that people are free to come inside and leave the KOJC compound.
He said, though, that police doing civil disturbance and management duties are still lined up “to control the ground.”
UNDERGROUND FACILITY
Alba said policemen continue to look for the entrance to the underground facility where they believe Quiboloy and his companions are hiding. A ground penetrating radar earlier detected heartbeats from the bunker.
Alba said Davao region police director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III remains confident that Quiboloy and his cohorts are holed up in the underground facility inside the 30-hectare property.
“He is confident with all the information and technology being utilized, he (Torre) is very positive,” he said.
PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo dismissed anew allegations of “overkill” in the deployment of policemen to serve the arrest warrants.
Fajardo said if they deployed only 10 to 20 policemen, they would be easily overpowered by KOJC members.
“So, it really necessitated the deployment of appropriate number of personnel to ensure security inside and outside the KOJC (compound),” she said.
She shared Alba’s and Torre’s confidence that Quiboloy and his co-accused are inside the property.
“Apart from information they are inside, we have technology and devices that detected sign of human life underground,” said Fajardo, referring to the heartbeats from the underground facility.
CONTINUE SEARCH — DOJ
The Department of Justice yesterday said the PNP may continue its operation inside the KOJC compound to search for Quiboloy as it explained that the temporary protection order issued by Branch 15 of the Davao City Regional Trial Court did not stop the police from its ongoing operations but merely ordered it to remove barriers or blockades around the sprawling property located along Sasa Highway in Davao City.
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said the court order was more related to the entry and exit points of the compound and not an order stopping the police search operation.
“I don’t think the cease-and-desist order was a blanket cease-and-desist order. It was really related more to the ingress and egress of the followers into and out of the compound,” Clavano told ABS-CBN News Channel in an interview.
He said the Davao court’s order was “specific enough” about the adjustments and changes the police must make in their ongoing hunt for Quiboloy.
“In this case, I believe, since the wording is like this, then we just have to stick to it. What we can expect today perhaps is really just an adjustment by the police since the court has already spoken,” he added.
A statement issued by the DOJ said the police operations in search of Quiboloy are “within the bounds of law by virtue of a legal order from a co-equal court.”
It added that the policemen deployed for the operation allowed free ingress and egress to the KOJC compound, adding that the barriers or barricades surrounding the area did not prevent the flow of basic human needs for the religious group’s members “but merely places added security to help law enforcers in advancing their purpose.”
“As much as the DOJ respects the Court’s prerogative, the Department, nonetheless, believes the temporary protection order is already moot and academic considering the issues underscored therein have all been addressed,” the DOJ said.
The DOJ also said that the actions of the PNP were executed in accordance with a valid warrant of arrest.
Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) chairperson and DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said the TPO is not an obstacle or hindrance in the serving of the warrant of arrest against Quiboloy and his cohorts, as well as the rescue of trafficking victims, if there are any.
However, Ty said the police should be more careful in conducting the operations.
“Tingin ko kailangan lang nila maging mas masinop lalo at mas mag ingat lalo sa kanilang trabaho upang magbigay galang ang mga karapatan,” Ty said, adding that the police must at always respect the rights of the people (I think they just need to be more careful and vigilant in doing their work and give due respect to the rights of the people),” Ty said.
CLARIFICATION
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said they would seek a clarification on the Davao court order to “remove all forms of barricades, barriers or blockades that bar the access to and from” the KOJC property.
Abalos on Tuesday said the PNP will comply with the court order and remove all barricades and blockades in the compound’s perimeter but will continue with the manhunt for Quiboloy.
Abalos said that in May this year, the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of venue of all criminal cases against Quiboloy from Davao City to Quezon City following a DOJ request to avoid a miscarriage of justice.
The TPO was issued by the Davao Regional Court Branch 15.
“’The court further directed judges in Davao City and in other stations in Mindanao where future’, mind you, ‘future related cases involving Quiboloy and his co-accused may be filed to motu propio order the transmittal of the records to the office of the clerk of court of the RTC Quezon City and Metropolitan Trial Court Quezon City as the case may be,” Abalos said quoting the decision of the Supreme Court.
“That is why we’re filing cases to clarify. Number one, ano ba yung temporary protection order nila? Iyung pag-a-arresto, tuloy-tuloy kami. But with reference to the barricades, to the barriers. Kasi sa totoo lang, ito nga yung nakakatulong to protect life (That is why we’re filing cases to clarify. Number one, what is the temporary protection order about? About the arrest, we would sustain it. But with reference to the barricades, to the barriers. In truth, it helps to protect life),” he said.
Abalos said the Office of the Solicitor General would file the clarification.
Solicitor General Meynardo Guevarra, in a message to the media yesterday, said the clarification would be filed with the Davao RTC but they are still preparing it.
Apart from the TPO, members of the KOJC had also asked the Davao RTC to issue a show cause order against Abalos and the PNP led by police chief General Rommel Marbil, among others, to explain why they should not be held in contempt for the continued presence of police officers inside the KOJC compound despite the TPO.
Quiboloy faces charges for alleged violation of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
He is also facing a non-bailable qualified human trafficking charge before a Pasig court.
Quiboloy was also indicted by a California court in 2021 for allegedly conspiring to engage in sex trafficking, and has an active arrest warrant in the US issued on November 10, 2021, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Quiboloy has denied the accusations but went into hiding and continues to remain at large.
CALL FOR SOBRIETY
Amid the tension prevailing for days in the KOJC compound in Davao City, the Archbishop of Davao called for sobriety among the supporters of the fugitive pastor and members of the PNP.
In a pastoral appeal, Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles said: “As the Shepherd of the Catholic faithful of the Archdiocese of Davao, I am morally impelled to speak out, for and in behalf of peace, and to make an appeal for calmness and sobriety among the people of Davao City, especially those involved in the ongoing situation at the KOJC compound here.”
“Let us respect the humanity of everyone, and their inherent rights. Let sobriety take the upper hand in our judgment and action,” he added.
On one hand, the Davao prelate called on the KOJC followers and Quiboloy supporters to adhere to the rule of law.
“I simply wish to reiterate what so many people from Davao City and outside are calling for, that is, the respect of the rule of law. Careful discernment, and prudence, and the regard for the basic civil liberties guaranteed by our constitution must be observed in compliance with the directives of the Courts,” said Valles.
On the other hand, he urged the police to be more considerate in conducting their operations inside the 30-hectare compound.
“The prolonged search being conducted, coupled with the overwhelming presence of law enforcers in a place dedicated for religious worship, and for the education of the youth, is alarming and troubling, as it touches some sensitive issues on religious freedom,” said Valles.
The Archbishop of Davao also urged the faithful to pray for the immediate peaceful resolution of the situation.
“I fervently ask our faithful to pray for peace and sobriety in our hearts and minds! Let us pray that justice and peace may continue to reign in our beloved city,” said Valles. — With Ashzel Hachero, Jocelyn Montemayor and Gerard Naval
