Members and supporters of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ barricade the road outside the KOJC compound on Sunday evening, 25 August 2024. Media members covering the standoff suffer harassment from KOJC members. MindaNews photo by FERDINANDH CABRERA
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 August) – Members of the media covering the standoff between law enforcers and followers of Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy outside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound were harassed by furious supporters of the fugitive religious leader Monday night, August 26, hours after the dispersal of the crowd barricading a portion of Carlos P. Garcia Highway, also known as the Diversion Road.
The media personnel from various news outfits immediately reported the incident to the Buhangin Police Station.
The media members who were harassed included Edith Caduaya and Eugene Dango of Newsline Philippines; Ian Carl Espinosa, Antonio L. Colina IV, and Toto Lozano of MindaNews; Arnel Rebayla and Ramel Domingo of PTV 4; and, Germelina Lacorte of Philippine Daily Inquirer.
According to the narrative report submitted to police, the incident started when Caduaya requested the authorities to allow the news teams from TV5 and UNTV to pass through the anti-riot police barricade as their vehicles were parked just behind the line.
It said that just after police granted their request for passage, at least five KOJC members were seen attempting to join the journalists but were immediately blocked by authorities.
Some protesters, who were gathered near the gate of Jose Maria College (JMC), then approached and hurled invectives at the media personnel, calling them “bayaran na” and “biased media, bayaran.”
It said that Caduaya explained that she was simply asking authorities to allow the TV crew members to pass as they were already heading to report and go home.
The tension escalated when the vehicles of PTV-4 and Newsline approached the police barricade, believing that they could proceed and head towards Panacan.
Upon reaching the police line, a furious crowd of KOJC members surrounded the vehicles, shouting at the drivers “atras, atras!” (move back, move back!) and “SMNI lang ang di biased” (Only SMNI is unbiased), forcing the drivers to turn back.
The report added that the angry mob threw bottled waters at the vehicles, slammed their frames and windows, and chased away the remaining journalists who were already leaving the area.
It was also reported that an alleged KOJC member even grabbed the press card of Dango, who was only taking footage of the furious mob with his camera, and accused him of being biased. An old man in a green shirt intervened to prevent the crowd from closing in on him.
Shortly thereafter, Lozano was seen surrounded by the mob. Alarmed, the media workers immediately approached him.
“We noticed that photojournalist Toto Lozano was missing so we went back and found out that it was indeed Toto, who was accosted by the crowd. We told him that we were pulling out of the area,” the statement reads.
Around 2,000 law enforcers stormed the KOJC compound to effect the arrest warrants against Quiboloy starting Saturday dawn, August 24.
Quiboloy is facing charges for alleged child abuse and qualified human trafficking, along with co-accused Jackielyn Roy, Cresente Canada, Paulene Canada, Ingrid Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes. Paulene was arrested last July 11 at her residence in Emily Homes Subdivision in Barangay Cabantian here.
These suspects have two warrants of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC)-Branch 12 in Davao City and the RTC in Pasig City last April 3 and April 11, respectively.
Last May 28, the Supreme Court’s Second Division ordered the transfer of the two criminal cases from RTC in Davao to RTC in Quezon City.
In a letter dated August 25 and addressed to Atty. Israelito Torreon, lead counsel of Quiboloy, and Brigadier General Nicolas Torre, Police Regional Office-11 director, Caduaya, who is also Mindanao Independent Press Council president, detailed the hostilities encountered by journalists covering the standoff last Sunday.
She appealed for an end to the hostilities and slander directed at the media workers.
“We, as journalists, are dedicated to upholding the principle of fair and balanced journalism and fostering a respectful and civil discourse. Let us work together to ensure that media freedom is not just protected, but championed, and that all parties involved can engage in dialogue with mutual respect,” she said.
Torreon received a copy of the letter on Monday and apologized to the media workers for the harassment they suffered from the hands of KOJC members.
In an interview Tuesday morning, the lawyer again apologized to the media workers for the harassment they suffered from KOJC members, and vowed he would do his “little efforts” to convince them not to subject the journalists to “name-calling.”
He believed that the KOJC members hurled invectives due to frustrations over how some media outfits were covering the operation to arrest Quiboloy.
“I do hope and pray that you will continue to cover us with fairness, without the name-calling. I also request the members of KOJC to let us control our emotions. Let’s be cool under pressure,” he said.
In a statement, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines encouraged media workers to file incident reports with their newsrooms and with local authorities for documentation and for next steps for accountability.
“We also urge calm amid these tense times and remind (the) parties that the media is not the enemy. Attacking media workers will hurt individual practitioners, but will not affect issues raised at these protests. We call on newsrooms and the government — on the national and local levels — to ensure media workers’ safety from unwarranted attacks as they are only there to cover,” it said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
