President Marcos said there was nothing illegal in the police operations to serve arrest warrants for fugitive pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his accomplices within the 30-hectare Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City.
“Was there already a human rights violation if we deployed a lot of police officers? I don’t think so. The reason we did this was so that we can contain the peace,” the President said.
The Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 on Tuesday issued a temporary protection order in favor of the KOJC and directed the Philippine National Police to remove all forms of barricades, barriers or blockades.
The Supreme Court, however, said the TPO does not prevent the PNP from enforcing the arrest warrant against Quiboloy and five other KOJC members for facing charges of child abuse and human trafficking.
Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said there will be no letup in the search for Quiboloy despite the TPO.
The court said the PNP barricades “hinder religious and academic activities of petitioners’ officers, members, missionaries and students, among others.”
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said they will file a clarificatory petition before the Davao RTC.
“We indicated in our progress report the reason why we should stay in the area. It’s because we have reasonable ground to believe based on information provided by the informant and our technical equipment that we have that the suspects we are looking for are inside the compound,” Fajardo said.
Mr. Marcos said considering the massive compound where Quiboloy is believed to be hiding in, the operation really required several PNP personnel.
“You can’t do this with a dozen police officers. Never mind those who are fighting or resisting, or blocking. Just to inspect 30 hectares, you need a lot of people right away,” the President said.
Mr. Marcos belied claims that the operation was politically-motivated.
“You go to human rights advocates – nothing that we did violated human rights. All the police officers who went in were unarmed – not one of them had a gun. We didn’t use tear gas, we didn’t do anything like that. So what human rights violations are they talking about?” the President said.
“I really don’t understand why Quiboloy is dragging his followers. He is putting them at the frontline,” Mr. Marcos said.
On Saturday, around 2,000 members of the PNP raided the KOJC compound.
Quiboloy is believed to be hiding in an underground bunker, after PNP Regional Director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said they detected heartbeat meters below the compound using a ground penetrating radar.
A Mindanao prelate on Tuesday joined calls for Quiboloy to surrender and face the allegations against him in court.
“Pastor Quiboloy must surrender now for the sake of his people and to stop more loss of lives and damage of property. If he is innocent, there is the court,” Ozamiz Archbishop Martin Jumoad said in a radio interview.
Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, for his part, said the overwhelming number of police camping in front of the KOJC gates “created an atmosphere of terror.”
The Commission on Human Rights said it is continuously monitoring the situation.
“The CHR has taken cognizance of incidents involving some members of the Philippine National Police and KOJC that may have resulted in human rights violations,” it said.
“We have also noted the rescue of alleged victims of human trafficking inside the KOJC compound,” it added.
The CHR also appealed to KOJC members to refrain from engaging in unruly activities that may jeopardize the safety of everyone, including state forces, the media, and civilians.
“The Commission reminds those who conduct public assemblies to secure a permit and respect the allotted time and place of their gathering, in accordance with Batas Pambansa 880, and to avoid incidents that may interfere with the rights of the general public,” the CHR said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Marcos defends raid on Quiboloy compound”
