MALUNGON, Sarangani (MindaNews / 02 June) – Fugitive preacher Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) is not hiding in Kitbog, a remote highland village here, a female worker of the KOJC declared in a video interview.
“Wala po si Pastor dito sa Kitbog (Pastor is not here in Kitbog). We have no idea where he is. We have no knowledge about his personal whereabouts right now,” said Kathleen Laurente, who introduced herself as “legal representative” of the KOJC, the church founded by the controversial Quiboloy, a self-appointed “son of God.”
A view from a roadside house in Kitbog, overlooking green structures at a distance amid rolling terrain. The green structures belong to KOJC. MindaNews photo ROMMEL REBOLLIDO
Laurente made the declaration during a video interview by Bombo Radyo GenSan on Thursday, the video posted on its social media page. Laurente repeatedly said “the pastor is innocent, the pastor is law-abiding” as she answered questions trying to link Quiboloy’s criminal cases to politics.
Laurente said “Ginapangita nila si pastor, and even diri, wala gyud diri si Pastor contrary to the news aired by the Bombo Radyo. Dugay na wala makaanhi si Pastor” (They have been looking for the pastor, even here (in Kitbog). He is not here contrary to news aired over Bombo Radyo. It’s been a long time since the Pastor last visited), she said.
Bandits’ lair
Sitio Kitbog is perched about a thousand feet on a mountain. It can be reached from the town center via a 15-kilometer rough road of steep climb with zigzagging bumpy portions of narrow concrete and limestone pavement along a mountain-side.
Laurente said Kitbog is special to their pastor because “it is where he realized God’s calling” and where his ministry began in the 1970s, before he went to Tamayong in Davao City.
Laurente said Kitbog used to be a bandits’ lair but was transformed by Quiboloy’s ministry when he returned to the place last year and the town mayor, Tessa Constantino, witnessed how the pastor revived Kitbog.
Laurente quoted the mayor as having said, “na-wipe out na sa mapa ang Kitbog kay grabe ang bandido diri” (Kitbog was wiped out because of too many bandits) but the mayor said she saw how Quiboloy “revived” Kitbog.
She said they have “strong community support,” with the mayor as well as other local leaders, “like the town council IPMR (Indigenous Peoples’ Representative) Datu Edmund Pangilan and community chair Datu Marcelo Pangilan.”
She acknowledged that the Pangilans own vast tracts of land in Kitbog, where villagers said the KOJC has established farmlands. But, Laurente said they are only there to help the community.
“As far as the eye can see”
Kitbog gradually developed since 2011, lands were developed, houses built then came buildings and other structures “so that full-time workers like me can have a place to stay,” said Laurente, who is not from the place.
Quiboloy said he will transform Kitbog into a “pilgrimage destination” similar to the Prayer Mountain and Glory Mountain in barangay Tamayong, Davao City.
A giggling Laurente said “as far as the eyes can see” when asked by a reporter how big the KOJC community in Kitbog had become.
On May 29, 2023, the Kitbog Blaan community conferred on Quiboloy the title “Datu Tud Labun” and thereafter “Pastor Quiboloy was presented with the stewardship of their ancestral domain,” KOJC said on its website.
In a KOJC video, Quiboloy said: “We will make a city out of Sitio Kitbog.”
Preparing for NBI and the police
Laurente said despite the controversy their pastor is in, everything goes on as usual in Kitbog.
She denied there are armed men in the place. If there are indeed armed men here, they could have surfaced already.
Laurente said Pastor Quiboloy taught them not to resort to guns. “The only weapon we have is the Bible,” she said.
Screenshot from SMNI, 29 May 2023
The KOJC worker said what they are preparing for is when the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and police officers arrive. “But, we know they are law abiding,” she said.
A young police officer in Malungon told MindaNews last month that they cannot just go to Kitbog because “it is a private place and that the nature of the events in that place is religious, Mahirap mapasubo (It would be difficult).”
On May 25, Cresente Canada, chair of barangay Tamayong in Davao City, a co-accused of the fugitive pastor, surrendered 21 guns to the Davao region police office.
The police said lawyer Israelito Torreon represented Canada in giving up the guns to authorities at the KOJC compound in Sasa, Davao City.
On May 2, Quiboloy’s men surrendered five of his 19 firearms to the police, after his gun permits were revoked. Police said the Quiboloy’s 14 other firearms were already sold.
Quiboloy continues to evade the arrest orders issued by the Senate of the Philippines and two local trial courts for various crimes, including alleged human trafficking, child abuse, and sexual abuse.
On May 4, Quiboloy’s black helicopter landed in Kitbog, as confirmed by a resident of a nearby village that MindaNews was able to talk to.
The resident, however, could not tell if the wanted preacher was on board. “Halos man kada adlaw madungog namo dunay helicopter moabot (Almost every day we can hear a helicopter arriving),” the resident said. (Rommel G. Rebollido / MindaNews)
