3 PNP officials, 12 others relieved from post over alleged overkill in serving Quiboloy warrant

At least three police officials and 12 others have been relieved from their post over alleged violations in serving the arrest warrant against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Friday.

PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo identified the relieved officials as Police Regional Office 11 director Police Brigadier General Aligre Martinez, PNP Directorate for Operations head Police Major General Ronald Lee, and Intelligence Group director Police Colonel Edwin Portento.

Nine members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, two from the Special Action Force, and one from the Traffic Enforcement Unit were also relieved from post. They were reassigned to Police Regional Office IV-A (Calabarzon).

“They were administratively relieved to give way to the conduct of our investigation if there were indeed lapses, kung nagkaroon ng pagmamalabis, o nagkaroon ng negligence of supervision,” Fajardo told reporters.

(We're probing if they really indeed used excessive force, or if there was negligence of supervision.) 

“Titignan po natin, iyong pagseserve ba ng warrant ay naging tama, wala bang na-violate sa (We'll see if the warrant was served above board, if it did not violate our) police operational procedure on June 10 that led to this issue of the police actions being a supposed overkill,” she added.

Fajardo, however, clarified that the PNP still stands by its position that serving of the warrants of arrest against Quiboloy was a lawful operation.

Quiboloy 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.

Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), which Quiboloy leads, earlier said that the serving of the arrest warrant against their leader was unjust because authorities forced their way in 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.

“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.

Aside from pending charges in the Philippines, 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 and two other members of his KOJC, namely Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag.—Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News