DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 03 September) – A city councilor here asserted that the ongoing serving of arrest warrants against fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), and his other co-accused are “unconstitutional.”
In a session under suspended rules Tuesday morning, Councilor Luna Acosta, chairperson of Committee on Peace and Public Safety, said the police apparently failed to observe Article III Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
The provision states that “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.”
In her privilege speech, Acosta said one must reflect on the possible impact of the police operation inside the KOJC compound, considering how they would feel if their own schools, churches, homes, or their own personal rights were violated in the process.
Some 2,000 police forces, led by Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, Police Regional Office-11 director, are on Day 11 of an operation to arrest Quiboloy and his four co-accused, who are facing arrest warrants issued by two Philippine courts and the Senate for alleged large-scale human trafficking, sexual abuse, and other charges.
The police forces have been barricading the compound since Day 1 on August 24.
Acosta said the police’s “use of excessive force” is “violating every Filipino’s constitutional right.”
“Let us remove ourselves from the question of whether or not Quiboloy should surrender himself, that is not the point. When looking into the justification of this police operation, I ask each Filipino to ask themselves these questions,” Acosta said in her privilege speech.
“What if it were your school that was closed? What if it were your church that was desecrated? What if it were your home that was entered into? What if it were your rights that were being disrupted to serve police operations?” she asked.
“Then tell me, is this still what the Constitution guarantees? Is this still right?” she said.
While Acosta acknowledged the court’s authority to issue warrants and the police’s duty to enforce them, she questioned whether the law is truly being followed when “excessive force, the seizure of private property, and the disregard for the rights of others” happen.
She said the police operation has also caused significant inconvenience to Davaoeños, particularly near the Davao International Airport.
For his part, Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain, who presided the session, said the deployment of 2,000 police forces can be considered “overkill,” as they are looking for only five persons.
According to him, the apparent excessive use of force has eroded the KOJC members’ trust on the police.
“What’s happening in the KOJC compound has impacted the lives of a lot of our fellow Dabawenyos, to the extent that they are now fearsome, apprehensive, and are now concerned in their peace, their safety in their homes, and I am not sure but their faith in government institutions are hanging on the thread,” Quitain said.
Last August 25 evening, KOJC members and supporters barricaded a portion of the Carlos P. Garcia highway or diversion road to protest the police operation inside the group’s 30-hectare compound and show their support to their embattled leader.
Acosta said the police allegedly violated the KOJC members’ right to education with the disruption of classes at the Jose Maria College, and the right to worship by barricading the KOJC cathedral.
“We must remind ourselves that no one is above the law; not the police who enforce it, the lawyers who defend it, the lawmakers who craft it, not even the President who orders it,” Acosta said.
In response, Torre said while he applauded the city council’s move urging the police to uphold the rule of law and respect the constitution with regards to their ongoing operations, he hopes the legislative body will also file the same resolution to Quiboloy, his co-accused, and his KOJC followers.
“I hope they will make that call to Quiboloy and his followers, respetuhin niyo din ang rule of law, hindi iyong Justice for Apollo Quiboloy ang nasa T-shirt niyo pero ayaw niyo naman humarap sa husgado,” Torre said in a press conference at Camp Sgt. Quintin M. Merecido on Tuesday morning.
He said only the Supreme Court can decide if Quiboloy is innocent or not.
“Justice is not found along the streets, it is found through the rule of law,” he said. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)