Editorial: The 'big raid' in Davao City

THE serving of the warrant of arrest against the fugitive pastor, Apollo C. Quiboloy, at his Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound, in Buhangin, Davao City on Saturday, August 24, 2024, created an uproar not only among the KOJC members but also among the Dabawenyos who are living peacefully.

Two days before the "police raid" on the KOJC compound, Sunstar Davao bore the banner story "More cops in city?" as we received documents from an anonymous source of the deployment of a huge number of police personnel coming from different provinces in the Davao Region. However, nobody from the authorities in the region would confirm nor deny it and why there was a need to deploy over a hundred police personnel more.

According to some estimates of the local media members, around a thousand police forces stormed the KOJC compound on Saturday in full riot gear to serve the arrest warrant against Quiboloy and his co-accused Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes.

Quiboloy is facing charges under Section 5(b) of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act and under Section 10(a) of the same act.

He is also facing a charge for violating Section 4(a) of Republic Act No. 9208, or qualified human trafficking, a non-bailable offense, before a Pasig court.

While there is no question as to the need to serve the arrest warrant against the fugitive pastor for he indeed is answerable to the court of justice of the Philippines for the charges he is facing, it is the act of serving the warrant of arrest that created a hullabaloo in our community. The number of police personnel alone serving the warrant, "around a thousand" against five individuals, is already an "overkill". Let alone the "hostage-like" situation being imposed on the KOJC members inside the compound where nobody could get out as well as nobody could get in for those who are coming from outside.

One death has already been reported as of Saturday for not immediately getting the medical help the victim needed, as even ambulances could hardly get in. There were also other members inside the compound who needed immediate medical assistance but were left to fend for themselves because they were not allowed to go out.

While we understand that police officers are only doing their duties as mandated by their superiors, in times such as these isn't it the call of one's conscience that would give him the authority to release those who are not a party to the charges, especially those who require urgent medical attention?

Additionally, local media members reported that most of the police officers who were deployed from other provinces in the region for the "raid" were so weary that some of them were seen sleeping beside their mobile, on grass, and literally everywhere their bodies could lie down properly. A sad state to be in for any person, police or not, in a community that is not under a war. And these situations were not only described but captured on cameras. 

While the KOJC members' situation is already condemnable, the condition of the police personnel who are involved in the raid is nothing less. If there is one thing we should learn from this situation, it is this: the end does not usually justify the means. More often than not, it results in more lives lost, more individuals' morale lowered, and further injustices.