THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) failed to arrest the embattled religious leader, Apollo C. Quiboloy, and any of his co-accused after a conduct of comprehensive search on the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) indoor arena in Davao City on Friday afternoon, August 9, 2024.
NBI-Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-Semro) director lawyer Arcelito Albao told reporters that they served the warrant in a “peaceful and orderly manner” inside the KOJC premises but less than 50 percent of the compound of the 50,000-square meter King Dome were only visited by their investigative team.
“Actually ‘di pa siya tapos, wala pa nga siya 50 percent, masyadong mainit sa loob… But right now, hindi pa namin siya [Quiboloy] nakita (We are not done yet, we are not yet 50 percent done, it was too humid there. Right now, we have not found Quiboloy and his aides yet),” the official told reporters in an interview live streamed through the Facebook page of KOJC-owned Sonshine Media Network Inc. (SMNI) News.
He also disclosed that they failed to capture Quiboloy’s remaining co-accused: Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes.
“So far we did not see any accused including Pastor Quiboloy,” Albao said in an ambush interview.
Following the search warrant, SMNI aired a two-hour special live coverage through their Facebook page SMNI News at around 4 p.m., but immediately stopped after the NBI operatives were seen leaving the compound.
To recall, Police Regional Office (PRO-Davao) director BGen Nicolas Torre on Aug. 6 clarified in a press conference that Quiboloy is just hiding inside the compound.
However, law enforcers find it difficult to capture Quiboloy and his trusted associates inside the compound, as his followers are “shielding” him by preventing law enforcers from entering the KOJC premises.
Albao said that while he acknowledged the majority of the KOJC followers’ sentiments and opinions over the conduct of several search warrants, he noted that they are just following the legal process as there are bases for visiting and searching Quiboloy and his aides inside the compound.
The NBI search is in relation to the human trafficking cases of Quiboloy and his aides filed in Pasig Trial Court and Davao Regional Trial Court last April this year. DEF