Two lawmakers from the “Young Guns” bloc of the House of Representatives backed former Senator Leila de Lima’s appeal to former President Rodrigo Duterte for him to assist authorities in enforcing the arrest warrant against Apollo Quiboloy, the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon both emphasized that Duterte should refrain from criticizing law enforcement agencies carrying out their duties.
“We support senator De Lima’s pronouncement that the ex-President should be helping authorities enforce the warrant of arrest against his ally Quiboloy. As a former president, he should be all for upholding the law at all times, no exceptions,” Acidre said.
Acidre echoed de Lima’s earlier remarks, highlighting that the operation is based on a valid warrant of arrest.
De Lima, who has been a vocal critic of Duterte, recently called on him to demonstrate his commitment to the rule of law by supporting the arrest of Quiboloy, who has been linked to various legal controversies instead of questioning it.
“What is illegal about enforcing valid arrest warrants? At sa’yo pa talaga nanggaling ito? Kapal ng mukha! Bakit hindi ka na lang tumulong sa mga awtoridad?! (You even had the nerve to bring this up? Why don’t you just help the authorities,” De Lima said in a post on X, reacting to Duterte’s statement.
Bongalon added his concerns, questioning Duterte’s recent statements that appeared to undermine the legitimacy of the law enforcement operation.
“We hope the former president refrains from issuing statements that tend to sow confusion and divide the Filipino nation based on a very faulty line of reasoning. How can one argue against a legitimate operation of law enforcement agencies?” he asked.
Bongalon further pointed out the close relationship between Duterte and Quiboloy, urging the former President to exercise “delicadeza” and avoid interfering with the judicial process.
“We all know that the object of this arrest warrant is a close friend of the former president. Shouldn’t he just let the delicadeza go and stop talking about it?” he said.
