DND files another comment-opposition vs Quiboloy transfer to AFP custody

The Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday filed another comment-opposition against the motion of Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused to be transferred to military custody.

DND Assistant Secretary Erik Lawrence S. Dy said the Department filed the second comment-opposition at the Quezon City Hall of Justice.

“Ang DND po, naghain po kami ng aming comment-opposition upang tutulan ang mosyon ng mga akusado na magpalit sa kustodiya ng Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he told reporters in an ambush interview.

(The DND filed our comment-opposition to oppose the accused's motion to transfer the custody to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.)

On Tuesday, the DND also filed an opposition against the transfer of Quiboloy and others to AFP facilities at a Pasig court.

Dy pointed out that the accused are facing heinous crime cases which are under the jurisdiction of civil courts and that the AFP’s role does not include detaining suspects in criminal cases.

AFP detention facilities are for AFP personnel charged and convicted with military service-related offenses under the jurisdiction of the general courts-martial.

On Monday, the Quiboloy camp filed a petition to place the embattled pastor and his co-accused to 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.

Quiboloy and his other co-accused are currently detained in the PNP Custodial Center at Camp Crame, Quezon City. 

Arrest warrants were issued against Quiboloy and others for alleged violation of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act as well as qualified human trafficking.

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.

Quiboloy's camp has repeatedly denied the allegations against him. 

Earlier, Quiboloy and his four co-accused on pleaded not guilty to qualified human trafficking charges before a Pasig City court. —VAL, GMA Integrated News