LEGAL counsel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) lawyer Israelito Torreon has questioned the government and police investigating authorities for their P10 million reward money offered to those who can capture Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.
According to the lawyer during the KOJC press conference on August 1, 2024, the KOJC founder remains to be a “suspect”, which means that the bounty is discriminatory on his part as none of his cases undergo fair trial.
“There are actually criteria for determination as to who will be Top 10 wanted persons [and] most wanted persons and they are governed by Napolcom (National Police Commission) Memorandum Circular No. 2019 as amended by Napolcom No. 2022,” Torreon said, adding that the contempt of Quiboloy as one of the “most wanted” leader in the country is illegal and should be reviewed.
Torreon compared the situation to former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo and incumbent ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro who have been found guilty of child abuse by a court in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, saying that the same “reward offer” was not used to the accused despite being convicted by court.
On Friday evening, August 2, several members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) and special units of the PNP conducted a checkpoint operation in front of the KOJC compound near Davao International Airport, Carlos P. Garcia Highway.
The operation has caused an uproar, particularly among KOJC members after noticing that heavily armed battalions with personnel having no nameplates and patrol vehicles with covered license plates.
The checkpoint prompted KOJC-owned Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) to have an hour-long special live coverage interviewing the ground Swat officials, who ignored the questions asked by SMNI journalists later on.
However, according to Police Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-Davao) spokesperson Major Catherine Dela Rey, people should not put negative interpretations on the operation as it was just one of their “deployment strategies” against crime-related activities.
"We have strategies in our deployment, we are doing our job and part of that is crime prevention activities and police visibility," she told the Davao media members.
Despite her explanation, SMNI condemned the operation saying that Swat members were “causing great disturbance among KOJC missionaries and members, especially as armed authorities have already inflicted severe fear and trauma due to the June 10 Day of Infamy.”
Currently, police authorities have no leads nor information on the whereabouts of Quiboloy, but the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) assured that the wanted religious leader remains inside the country. DEF