Kingdom of Jesus Christ says serving of warrant vs. Quiboloy 'unjust'

The serving of the warrant of arrest against fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of Kingdom of Jesus Christ church is unjust, the KOJC said in a statement on Tuesday.

The KOJC was responding to the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) action on Monday wherein the police went inside the KOJC compound in Davao City to serve the arrest warrant against Quiboloy.

The pastor is facing charges of child prostitution, sexual abuse, and other acts of  neglect, abuse, cruelty or exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to the child's development.

The KOJC said the police unlawfully raided the KOJC compound, the Prayer Mountain, and the Glory Mountain in Barangay Tamayong, Davao City, as well as on the KOJC’s property in Kitbog, Sarangani Province.

“We strongly condemn the manner of implementing the arrest warrants insofar as they were not only laden with irregularities, but they were excessive and overkill," the KOJC said.

"The PNP deployed special battalions who were in full battle gear, some CIDG officials were even seen wearing bulletproof vests, and hundreds of police personnel in anti-riot gear and shields strategically positioned themselves at the KOJC compound,” it added.

“Even assuming without conceding that the arrest warrants had not yet been served, the implementation of the arrest warrants was unjust and excessive. The Constitution guarantees that all people have a right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose,” the statement read.

The KOJC said law enforcers are not authorized to use force nor disregard established rules in implementing an arrest warrant, and that an arrest warrant is not a search warrant.

“Even searches incident to a lawful arrest, the arrest must precede the search; generally, the process cannot be reversed. Thus, we strongly condemn the highly irregular implementation of the warrants of arrest and the arbitrary and oppressive use of force and violence in enforcing the same,” the KOJC said.

“We will continue to pursue all legal remedies to protect the constitutional rights of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the Kingdom leaders and the entire Kingdom of Jesus Christ,” it added.

The KOJC also said that at least three from their ranks were injured in the short melee that transpired when fully armed policemen tried to scale the gate of the KOJC compound.

The church also said that nine KOJC members were arrested or handcuffed by the police for the reason that they were allegedly carrying bolos during the raid.

“Clearly, the raids resulted in damage to KOJC’s property, unjust handcuffing or arrest of KOJC members, and injuries to several individuals, among others. The members are already preparing a formal complaint against the police officers concerned,” the KOJC said.

Quiboloy has also been indicted by a federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Central District of California for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling.

In 2022, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation also issued “Wanted” posters for Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “appointed son of god,” and two other members of his KOJC, namely Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag.

For his part, former President Rodrigo Duterte condemned the "excessive and unnecessary force" in the way the arrest warrants were issued. Last March, the religious group's media arm SMNI announced that Duterte has been named administrator of KOJC properties.

Vice President Sara Duterte also shared the same sentiments with her father.

"Kaisa ako sa mga nananawagan ng maayos, katanggap-tanggap, at makataong pagpapairal ng batas at pagtataguyod ng hustisya sa ating bansa," she said in a statement.

(I'm all for peaceful, acceptable, and human implementation of the law and promotion of justice in our country.)

"Sa ating pagpapairal ng batas, huwag nating kalimutan ang kaligtasan ng lahat, lalo na ng mga sibilyan, at mahalagang matiyak na malayo sa panganib ang mga kabataan (In enforcing our laws, we should not forget the safety of everyone, especially of civilians. It is important that our youth are out of harm's way)," she added.

"Huwag din sana nating kalimutan na ang pandarahas sa ating mga mamamayan ay paglapastangan sa ating demokrasya (We should keep in mind that violence against our people also desecrates our democracy)," — KG/VDV, GMA Integrated News