Braga questions intense efforts in arresting Quiboloy

DAVAO City Councilor Pilar Braga questioned the intense efforts exerted in arresting Pastor Apollo Quiboloy by the number of police deployed and the allotment of time and resources.

"What I do not understand is why we need that many police personnel and have spent so much time and energy and resources to arrest one pastor and a few of KOJC [Kingdom of Jesus Christ] members," Braga said on Tuesday, September 3, during her privilege speech at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

Braga said the police operation inside the KOJC compound, which started on August 24, is "unusual.”

Around 2,000 police personnel, with some even coming from outside the Davao Region, were deployed with the aim to arrest Quiboloy, who is considered by authorities as “fugitive from justice.”

"This is [a] very unusual police operation in the history of searches and arrests in this country. It is like we're making a hunt of a high-valued terrorist like Marwan," Bragada said.

Marwan, or Zulkifli bin Hir, was a Malaysian terrorist killed in January 2015 by security forces in the Philippines. It was also during this operation that resulted in the death of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) officers in Mamasapano, then-undivided Maguindanao (which is now Maguindanao del Sur). 

Braga emphasized that unlike what happened in Mamasapano, the number of police forces at the compound may have been deemed unnecessary considering that the area is a "place of worship."

"Surely our police authorities can show more respect and care in the conduct of such operations," the councilor said.

Citing sentiments among Dabawenyos, she said that there is "more to this than a regular police search and arrest."

"We have not seen this much zeal, determination, and dedication from our police in searching for one and arresting other suspected criminals," she said.

Braga said the continuous police operations inside the religious compound have not only affected the KOJC community but also the public.

The councilor cited some issues caused by the ongoing raid, which include the disruption of traffic near the area, the suspension of face-to-face classes at the Jose Maria College --- located inside the compound, and the disruption of daily lives of those inside the compound and nearby residents.

She also said this had created a "negative perception" of the city as a "city of chaos and instability."

"This cannot go on, and on, and on, and on," Braga said.

Braga said she is one with the KOJC community in hoping for the immediate solution to the current crisis inside the compound.

On legalities

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain said that many legal issues are happening in the ongoing search inside the KOJC compound.

Citing Article 3, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws," Quitain, a lawyer by profession, said there is a need to examine if there was a violation of due process in the conduct of the warrant.

The vice mayor said the number of deployed personnel at the KOJC compound, despite the existence of a warrant, might be an "overkill."

"And could there be a violation if the service of the warrant would result to a further search of the premises, in fact going subterranean," he said.

Another issue that the operation may have violated is the "separation of Church and State" clause of the Constitution.

"Religion should confine itself purely to ecclesiastical affairs while the State cannot interfere or meddle with religious worship and religious freedom because it is also guaranteed in the Bill of Rights that the right to believe is absolute but the right to act on one's belief can be the subject of government control and intervention or interference," Quitain said.

He said the opinions on this matter that would surely clash would be best left up to the court to decide.

Whatever the court decides, the vice mayor said that it should be respected.

Quitain, however, agrees that the ongoing standoff between the police and KOJC has raised concern among Dabawenyos, especially in terms of peace and security.

"I'm not sure but there is faith that certain government institutions might be hanging on a thread," he said, adding that general welfare should be a priority in the issue. RGL