Since the Aug. 24, 2024 raid on the 30-hectare property of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in Davao City, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God,” has yet to turn himself in.
The police remained undeterred and unfazed despite the order of a Davao City court to immediately cease and desist its ongoing operation on the KOJC property.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also expressed its support for the police’s effort to locate Quiboloy, stressing that the operation was conducted in accordance with a valid warrant of arrest, proving that no unlawful acts had been committed during the intensified search operation.
The DOJ also said that it respects the local court’s prerogative, but found the Temporary Protection Order as moot and academic considering the issues underscored have all been addressed.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte and the KOJC members have also condemned the police operations and tagged these as overkill.
The standoff has also led to the death of one KOJC member due to a reported heart attack, while complaints such as obstruction of justice and direct assault were lodged against some KOJC members during the service of the warrant.
But still, authorities believe that the fugitive religious leader, who is facing charges of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, remains in the country and is still at the compound as detected by their ground-penetrating device to locate the “heartbeat” of Quiboloy.
Quiboloy’s lawyer, Israelito Torreon, who repeatedly called on the police to stop the harassment, has said that the pastor was not at the compound and that he last saw him in March.
The Senate first issued an arrest order against Quiboloy for not attending the hearings.
Eventually, warrants of arrest from the Davao and Pasig courts were issued against Quiboloy and the others.
But the question remained: Where is Quiboloy now?
For Vice President Sara Duterte, Quiboloy is no longer in Davao City because there was plenty of time for him to leave.
When reporters asked the vice president about Quiboloy’s whereabouts, Duterte jokingly replied that he might be in heaven.
Well, he could either be literally or figuratively in two places right now: heaven and the opposite of heaven.