FIFTH TRY: Some of the 2,000 police officers mobilized on Saturday to again serve an arrest warrant on fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, assemble outside the KOJC compound in Davao City. —Photo by Germelina Lacorte
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The compound of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) on Saturday was swarmed by about 2,000 police officers.
This was another attempt of the police to arrest KOJC leader Apollo Quiboloy, who has refused to surrender to face charges of sexual and child abuse, and human trafficking.
Using a heartbeat and thermal scanner, the police searched the massive compound and by early evening, there was still no sign of Quiboloy.
A 53-year old KOJC member died of a heart attack and four others were rushed to the hospital because of shock when the officers breached the back and side walls of the compound earlier in the day, said Quiboloy’s lawyer Israelito Torreon.
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The police disputed the alleged cause of death, saying the man died of fatigue.
Police Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre, the Region 11 chief of the Philippine National Police, said the officers deployed to arrest Quiboloy would just take a rest and continue to search for him through the night over the objections of members of KOJC.
“They’re asking for more time, we try to give them time. We’re asking for the peaceful surrender of Pastor Quiboloy,” Torre said earlier in the afternoon.
Torreon wanted the police to leave after failing to find Quiboloy, insisting that the arrest warrant against the pastor did not give them the authority to stay on the property indefinitely.
SOUND BARRIER The Philippine National Police also deploys a vehicle fitted with a long-range acoustic device, in case there’s a need for stronger crowd control.| Germelina Lacorte
“They’re already in the compound for eight hours and they did not find the Pastor, so they have ended their search, they have to get out of the compound now,” Torreon said.
But Torre disagreed. He said they still had to search a number of rooms where they strongly believe Quiboloy could be hiding.
He said there was one room that KOJC appealed that the police not enter because there was a “patient” inside.
“They put up a lot of distractions,” Torre said, adding that Quiboloy had been disguising himself as a woman or a patient surrounded by nurses.
Torreon quickly denied this. “The pastor would not do that. He would not dress up as a woman, otherwise he could have already been arrested,” he said.
Around 5 p.m., Torre ordered the police to take a rest. He announced that they would not be pulling out and would enter the compound again either late in the night or early Sunday morning.
“With all the distractions by their members, it was terrible, it was like they were going to devour us there inside (the compound),” he said, referring to the protesting members of KOJC.
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Torreon said the police entered the compound in teams and went inside 22 structures that it was so confusing which team he should accompany.
The KOJC members cheered when Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, an ally of Quiboloy, arrived past 4 p.m. and entered the church compound where he met with Torre, Torreon and other church officials.
Dela Rosa said the senate hearing on the alleged use of excessive force in serving the warrant of arrest against Quiboloy and four of his coaccused had been suspended, but had not yet been adjourned.
“With this development, we will resume our committee investigation,” he said.
But according to Dela Rosa it was still too early to tell if the police had committed any violation of PNP regulations.
Abusive, excessive
“As to the numbers, even if there were so many policemen, we cannot say that it’s excessive because even if there were only 10 of them but they were so abusive, we can call that excessive. Even if there is a thousand but if they’re not doing anything wrong, we cannot question that,” Dela Rosa, a former national police chief, said.
Torre told reporters that they already saw in the initial scan the most likely place where Quiboloy could be hiding. “We are now on the second phase, where we are using technologies, which makes the search so slow because it will be very thorough,” Torre said. “We will look for him. He is just there.”
TOUGH ASSIGNMENT. Davao region police chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre directs his forces onsite. | Germelina Lacorte
He said the police would deploy more equipment on Sunday if they were unable to find Quiboloy Saturday night.
Reporters who wanted to cover the police operation inside the compound were asked by Torre to sign a document compelling them to testify in court but nearly everyone refused. In the end, he decided not to allow journalists inside the compound.
Dela Rosa advised both sides to continue to talk. “It’s good to talk, continue your communication, don’t cut it so that you will have a meeting of the minds,” he told Torre and Torreon.
But it would be best for Quiboloy to surrender “because there really is a warrant from the courts,” Dela Rosa said.
Cases in Davao, Pasig
Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “appointed son of God,” has a child abuse and sexual abuse cases in a Davao City court and a human trafficking case in a Pasig City court.
“We cannot hide forever. And also pity the people who are sacrificing,” Dela Rosa said, referring to Quiboloy’s followers. “If possible, it would be good if the pastor (surrenders) but if he doesn’t want to, we can’t do anything.”
He said the police were not withdrawing for the night despite the KOJC leaders’ objections, but they could not stay forever.
Dela Rosa said their equipment could detect a heartbeat 20 meters below the surface
“Let them go where the heartbeat leads them, maybe it’s the heartbeat of a frog,” he said.
Detectors
Torreon said the police should have left after more than 10 hours of fruitless search for Quiboloy.
“But they said they still have to employ the heart detector machine because they’re suspecting that Pastor Quiboloy is really there, so I cannot fight against the general. We agreed to disagree,” he said.
“The KOJC board of administrators already agreed to allow them to conduct further search using their heart detector. Maybe they also have a kidney detector and lung detector, let them use them all so they would be satisfied,” Torreon said.