'Disregard' for human rights won’t make Quiboloy surrender - lawyer

The apparent lack of due process won’t make embattled televangelist Apollo Quiboloy surrender to the authorities, his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said on Saturday.

Topacio said that authorities allegedly violated the constitutional rights of Quiboloy’s co-accused, Paulene Canada, following her arrest in Davao City on July 11.

“For close to ten hours, she was denied [her] right to counsel and was kept incommunicado, in violation of her constitutional rights,” said Topacio.

“We strongly suspect that, just like in other cases under the Marcos administration, Ms. Canada’s lawyers were given the runaround and she was detained without counsel for a substantial period of time, so that she can be subjected to psychological and other forms of torture so she can be illegally interrogated,” he added.

Topacio made the statement after Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos recently asked Quiboloy to surrender, but he doesn’t think it will be the case for his client.

“Under these circumstances, how can Abalos expect the Pastor, or anyone for that matter, to surrender to the authorities when utter disregard of the Bill of Rights has become the coin of the realm for the current administration?” he said.

A reward worth P10 million is being offered for any information that will lead to the arrest of Quiboloy. Aside from Quiboloy, P1 million each is also offered for his five co-accused.

Abalos said the rewards came from private citizens. But the pastor’s camp questioned the motives of private individuals for offering such amounts of money.

Quiboloy is facing several charges, including sexual abuse and human trafficking. He has denied any wrongdoing. —VBL, GMA Integrated News