TELEVANGELIST Apollo C. Quiboloy stands accused of many crimes: child abuse, sexual abuse, and qualified human trafficking.
Bail is discretionary, meaning that judges may order him detained while trial is ongoing.
Quiboloy has yet to face his accusers four months after warrants of arrest were issued against him by Pasig and Davao city courts. The KOJC compound (Kingdom of Jesus Christ) in Davao has become a mini republic that is virtually immune from normal legal processes.
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The Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation repeatedly failed to arrest the loquacious preacher who is enveloped by hundreds of supporters shielding him from the long arm of the law.
There is a bounty of P10 million for information on his whereabouts yet not one follower has publicly indicated willingness to turn Judas.
Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III of the Davao regional police office said that it is difficult to locate Quiboloy in 41 existing structures within the 30-hectare KOJC property.
KOJC is a veritable city within a city.
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Lawyers are wont to say that flight, or escape, is evidence of guilt. Quiboloy’s lawyers pay no heed to this legal principle. They split hairs by raising hurdles to stave off the police.
They claim that a search warrant must be secured, in addition to the pending warrants of arrest, to justify entry into structures within the compound that quite possibly serve as Quiboloy’s sanctuary from the clutches of the law.
This defense ignores a provision in the rules of criminal procedure which states that an officer, in order to make an arrest by virtue of a warrant, may break into any building or enclosure where the person to be arrested is or is reasonably believed to be, if he is refused admittance thereto, after announcing his authority or purpose.
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Note that the standard to be followed is only reasonable belief of the police. The rule is grounded on logic and experience.
As a practical matter, a police officer does not need to go back to the judge to ask for a warrant each time that a suspect being chased runs into a building or enclosure. That would be disastrous to law enforcement.
It is public knowledge that the KOJC is Quiboloy’s slice of heaven on earth. The complaints that resulted in the issuance of warrants of arrest against him invariably point to the Kingdom as the venue of his illegal sex acts. It is the natural target of police operations in hunting him down.
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Last Thursday the Court of Appeals issued a freeze order against Quiboloy’s assets consisting of several bank accounts, real estate, and a number of vehicles including a private plane.
The freeze order was extended to the KOJC itself, the Sonshine Media Network (SMNI), plus 10 personalities linked to Quiboloy’s religious empire.
The Court of Appeals found reason to believe that Quiboloy had been engaged in sexual exploitation, cash smuggling, and human trafficking.
This is a country governed by laws. Divine progeny does not carve out exceptions./PN
