Quiboloy group files new petition to stop ongoing police operations at KOJC

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Fugitive doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) has filed a petition to halt police operations aimed at capturing the elusive pastor and four of his associates in the group’s extensive property in Davao City.

The group has submitted a petition for certiorari and prohibition, with requests for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order, to a Davao court, KOJC lawyer Israelito Torreon said in a video shared by Quiboloy’s supporters on Wednesday, August 28.

If granted, the petition would permanently stop the ongoing police operations in the KOJC property.

The new petition followed a temporary protection order issued by Judge Mario Duaves of the 15th branch of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Davao on Tuesday, August 27.

Duaves’ order was based on a June petition filed by KOJC and the Quiboloy-owned Jose Maria College Foundation (JMC), more than a month before around 2,000 police officers stormed Quiboloy’s 30-hectare property on Saturday, August 24. The police manhunt has now entered its fifth day.

The June petition, which led to the August 27 temporary protection order, sought a writ of amparo. Torreon filed the petition on behalf of KOJC and JMC after police attempted to serve arrest warrants against Quiboloy and other fugitives at the compound on June 10.

The KOJC has criticized the police for their persistence in the ongoing operations, alleging that authorities set up a barricade around the KOJC Cathedral in defiance of the regional court’s temporary protection order.

The group said police brought in boxes, believed to contain equipment, and allowed several civilians to enter their place of worship but prevented their lawyer from entering.

Torreon warned that they would seek a court order to hold authorities, including Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, in contempt.

On Tuesday, Abalos said the search for Quiboloy and other fugitives — wanted for child abuse and trafficking charges — would continue inside the KOJC property despite the temporary protection order. However, he said the police would comply with the regional court’s directive to remove barriers.

He also said they would seek clarification from the court about its order, noting that the police were in the process of serving two arrest warrants issued earlier by other regional courts.

Torreon asserted that the temporary protection order was already enforceable even with a motion for clarification from the police or the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“We thought they would leave after the issuance of the court order,” said Torreon, adding that the “mere presence of the police in the compound of the KOJC is already a threat to the security and liberty” of the group’s members.

In a statement on Tuesday, the police regional office in Davao said it would continue implementing the search warrant because “there is no cease and desist order from the amparo court; we will continue with the implementation of the arrest warrant.”

“To reiterate, when law enforcement authorities are directed by the court to implement an arrest warrant, they are clothed with the legal authority as officers of the court to comply with such order,” the police statement read.

Police noted that they were ordered by the regional court to remove “barricades, barriers, or blockades” that restrict access to and from the property and to ensure the safety and security of people in the compound.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), the statement continued, “shares the same sentiment” and “is committed to respecting the rule of law, safeguarding human rights, and complying with police operational procedures. Inasmuch as there is no cease and desist order from the amparo court, we will continue with the implementation of the arrest warrant.”

In Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said there was nothing in the Davao court order that stops the ongoing operation to serve the arrest warrants against Quiboloy and other fugitives. Neither was the PNP ordered to leave the KOJC compound, she said.

“It’s not a restraining order; it’s a protection order,” Fajardo said. “Let’s make one thing clear: they are free to get in and out. Just imagine, we started implementing the warrant of arrest last Saturday, and if no one was allowed inside, all the people there would have starved…. What we implemented there is a simple control.” – Rappler.com