DND files opposition before Pasig court vs. Quiboloy transfer to AFP custody

The Department of National Defense has filed an opposition before the Pasig Regional Trial Court to prevent the transfer of custody of Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

In an ambush interview on Tuesday, DND Legal and Legislative Affairs chief Assistant Secretary Erik Lawrence Dy said the cases filed against the suspects were heinous crimes that fall under civilian courts, which meant that their custody remains with the law enforcement.

“Yung mga AFP detention facilities po natin, para po ito sa mga military officers and personnel charged or convicted of service-related offenses under the jurisdiction of the General Courts Martial. Ang mga akusado po sa kaso na ito ay hindi po miyembro ng AFP, at ang mga alegasyon din po laban sa kanila ay hindi po nasasaklaw ng General Courts Martial,” said Dy.

(Our AFP facilities are for military officers and personnel charged or convicted of service-related offenses under the jurisdiction of the General Courts Martial. The accused in this case are not members of the AFP, and the allegations against them do not fall under the General Courts Martial.)

Dy also said that the DND was only informed of the Quiboloy camp’s urgent motion for a transfer of custody on Monday.

Despite this, Dy clarified that the decision on the custody still lies with the court.

“Ang proseso naman po kasi, in the process of the court if they will be requesting us to comment. But in this case po, nagkusa na po kami, nagsumite po kami, naghain ng aming komento, dahil nga po tinututulan namin ang paglipat ng mga akusado sa kustodiya ng AFP,” he added.

(Our process is, in the process of the court, if they will be requesting us to comment. But in this case, we took the initiative, we prepared and submitted our comment, since we oppose the transfer of the accused to AFP custody.)

On Monday. the Quiboloy camp filed a petition to place the embattled pastor and his co-accused to be placed under AFP custody or house arrest, citing security reasons and health conditions as grounds for said transfer.

“He was very active in his advocacy against the NPAs and he was actively supporting the NTF-ELCAC, and he feels that the same should be considered,” said Kingdom of Jesus Christ legal counsel Israelito Torreon.

“An arrest is only made when there is an actual restraint of the person to be arrested. In this case, there is no actual restraint as a matter of fact the person who received his custody did not even know as to his exact location when the custody happened,” he added.

The Philippine National Police, on Tuesday, also said Quiboloy and his co-accused will remain at Camp Crame, following a Pasig City court order for the KOJC leader to remain in Pasig.

"Meron din pong inilabas na order po ang RTC Pasig directing the PNP to retain the custody nitong mga nasabing indibiduwal dahil yung kaso po nila sa Pasig po ay non-bailable po,” she said.

(The RTC Pasig also issued an order directing the PNP to retain the custody of these individuals because their case in Pasig is non-bailable.)

"So we don't want to run the risk na ilipat po sila doon po sa QC tapos po mag-bail po sila. Wala na pong kontrol ang PNP doon. We just have to really harmonize po itong mga court order na ito," she added.

(So we don't want to run the risk of transferring them to Quezon City where they can post bail. The PNP has no control over that. We just have to really harmonize these court orders.)

KOJC founder and self-appointed “Son of God” Pastor Apollo Quiboloy surrendered to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) at around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday at the KOJC compound.

Another lawyer for Quiboloy claims that he willingly surrendered to the ISAFP willingly after requesting for military presence due to a lack of trust in the police.

“Ang sabi niya, sana may presence ng AFP dahil wala daw siya tiwala sa pulis,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told Palace reporters on Monday.

(He said Quiboloy was hoping for the presence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines because he does not trust the police.)

While Quiboloy’s request was granted, Marcos clarified that it was still a police-led operation.

“Kung anuman ang involvement ng AFP diyan ay, as I said, augmentation,” he said.

(Whatever the involvement of the AFP was just augmentation.)

Quiboloy is facing charges under Section 5b) and  Section 10(a) of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.

He is also facing a non-bailable qualified human trafficking charge under Section 4(a) of Republic Act No. 9208, as amended, before a Pasig court.—Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News