MANILA – Former President Rodrigo Duterte slammed the “excessive and unnecessary force” in the way the authorities tried to arrest Kingdom of Jesus Christ Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Davao City on Monday.
In a statement, the former Chief Executive questioned President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. if it is the administration’s way of dealing with critics.
“Will this overkill be the trademark of this administration when dealing with individuals who are merely accused of committing a crime and have not been proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt?” Duterte said.
“Will they exhibit the same lack of self-restraint they have shown towards critics of this administration when dealing with their supporters?” the former president added.
“How can this administration guarantee the preservation of the constitutional rights of our fellow Filipinos when even the most fundamental of these rights are being trampled upon and blatant violated?” he further said.
About 100 soldiers and policemen in full battle gear were deployed outside the compound at Buhangin District at 5 .m. on Monday in an attempt to arrest Quiboloy, but they were met with a barricade of supporters of the KOJC founder.
“I strongly condemn the use of excessive and unnecessary force in serving the warrant of arrest for Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ by police officers who are not even from Davao City,” Duterte said.
“This incident occurred within a place of worship and on school premises, which is absolutely unacceptable,” he added, referring to the raid at KOJC Dome at Buhangin District in Davao City.
Quiboloy has a warrant of arrest from Davao Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 12 for violating Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law, specifically the provision on sexual abuse of minor and maltreatment.
Aside from Quiboloy, also issued arrest warrant are for the same case are Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, Paulene Canada, Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes.
Quiboloy also has a separate arrest warrant from a Pasig court for Qualified Human Trafficking charges under Section 4 (a) of Republic Act No. 9208.
Apart from these criminal cases, an arrest order for Quiboloy issued by the Senate panel on women headed by Senator Risa Hontiveros had also been released./PN
