Going Bonkers on Bunkers

What a mess! Following the news these days is like watching a tragic farce. The political landscape has gone topsy-turvy and absurd. Suddenly, the Marcoses with their record of impunity talk about sparing no sacred cows. Former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose administration is characterized by a bloody crackdown on human rights now advocates the same and even condemns an excessive use of police force. The Uniteam tandem has become anything but united, gone to the drain. A visibly irate Vice President sparred with members of the Congress during budget deliberations. Meanwhile, Alice Guo is still on the go as the POGO investigation thickens the plot which may connect to personalities from the previous administration. In another episode of these seemingly unending cycles of drama competing for headlines, the self-proclaimed appointed son of God, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), Pastor Apollo Quiboloy is subject to a police manhunt while the public speculates his whereabouts for that 10-million reward.

The embattled preacher's legal woes can be traced when in November 2021, the United States prosecutors indicted him and his cohorts for their alleged participation in a sex trafficking operation that subsequently led to a US court issuing a warrant of arrest against the accused. Last December 2023, Senator Risa Hontiveros initiated an investigation in aid of legislation that probed cases against the KOJC premised on determining the effectiveness of our laws against trafficking committed under the cover of religious organizations. This comes to light after the investigation of the Socorro Bayanihan Services Incorporated (SBSI), another religious sect, which allegedly committed qualified trafficking, child abuse, and serious illegal detention in Socorro town, Surigao del Norte.

Yet Mr. Quiboloy refused to attend the Senate inquiry leading to his contempt citation. On the other hand, a US judge in the Central District of California ordered the unsealing of the warrants against him and his co-accused over accusations of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, coercion, sex trafficking, conspiracy, and cash smuggling in March 2024. The following month, a Davao City court issued a warrant of arrest against Quiboloy and five others over child abuse charges. Additionally, he was slapped with another warrant of arrest issued by a Pasig City court relative to a non-bailable qualified human trafficking case.

Despite the warrants, the pastor is still at large prompting a comment from Senate President Escudero that the inability of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest Quiboloy was a slap in the face of the organization. Days after, more than 2,000-strong PNP personnel from different neighboring regions raided the premises of the KOJC anew in an effort to capture the accused, conducting a sweeping manhunt into the pastor's 30-hectare property, as the PNP claims that the pastor is holed up in a bunker within the compound.

However, the raid turned into a standoff with the members of the KOJC, while the pastor was nowhere to be found. On August 25, 2024, Quiboloy's supporters protested the PNP's operations and installed barricades at the highway leading to the KOJC disrupting the city's traffic. His camp also questioned the seemingly excessive police force in the operation and bemoaned the politicization of the case for the present administration's political leverage. Moreover, the pastor's legal team initiated actions and secured a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) issued by a Davao City court that was further affirmed by the Supreme Court concerning the writ of amparo filed by the KOJC. The TPO ordered the PNP to remove barriers that block access to the said compound hindering the petitioner's religious, academic, and proprietary rights. Nonetheless, the court later clarified that the TPO did not include the suspension of the warrant served against the pastor.

Predictably, Vice President Sara Duterte and his father Rodrigo Duterte have been quick to criticize the raid of the property of one of their closest allies. The VP, who has been mum on several issues including the aggression of China in the West Philippine Sea and who has refused to answer questions regarding the spending of her confidential funds swiftly criticized the operations. She condemned what she called a gross abuse of police power and the abuse of the rights of the common Filipinos, to the extent of asking forgiveness from the members of the KOJC for their support for President Marcos during the 2022 elections. The elder Duterte in another statement lamented that the country is in a worse state today with the trampling of the rights by those who are supposed to protect them.

The police operations received multi-pronged criticisms as an attempt of the PNP to performatively save face and please Malacañan, or if we ask the pastor's lawyers, illegal and excessive. Even the President's sister, Senator Imee Marcos was convinced that the scale of the operations was unjustified. On the other hand, President Marcos defended the operations justifying that the number of personnel is warranted to maintain order and also considering the size of the area that the police will search. The chief exec also slammed the pastor for using his supporters to evade arrest. 

It appears that the elusive capture of Quiboloy has put the test of law enforcement in more doubt as people ask if the long arms of the law are only for the poor, the weak, and the powerless, following also after the escape of Alice Guo. Furthermore, it strikes curious how often ordinary Filipinos put their lives and limbs in defense of controversial figures, protecting persons they like while usually turning a blind eye to what is right.

Perhaps, the self-styled appointed son of God should follow God's example of courage and humility. Even Jesus himself submitted to civil authorities. Render to Caesar what is due to Caesar. Mr. Quiboloy, with all his power and influence, has every means and resource to defend himself in court. By no stretch of logic can it be considered that the charges against him are political. He has cases against him not just in the country but also in the US. Like all accused, he shall be considered innocent until proven otherwise, but he must first face his charges. No one is above the law, not even those who claim to be ordained by god.

Verily, we still crave the law.