Pastor eludes 2K cops; follower dies

DAVAO CITY — An elusive preacher who refers to himself as the “Appointed Son of God” and is facing several criminal charges continues to confound around 2,000 policemen sent to serve him a warrant of arrest yesterday inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KoJC) compound in Buhangin District, Davao City.

The huge contingent vowed to stake out the vast complex until Quiboloy is caught or surrenders.

KoJC members, however, condemned the police for using long-range acoustic devices (LRAD) during their operation.

Quiboloy’s news channel, SMNI, reported the handcuffing of KoJC members during the police operation.

The cops sealed off a section of a major road in Davao City as they gathered outside the KoJC compound before entering the vast property at around 5 a.m.

A regional court in Pasig City had issued an alias warrant of arrest for Quiboloy and several of his church associates in connection with sexual abuse and human trafficking cases.

KoJC, in a statement, condemned the death of one of its members during the police operation, claiming that others were in critical condition. Another 16 members were injured during the hunt for Quiboloy, according to the religious cult.

Quiboloy’s counsel, Israelito Torreon, said that when the policemen breached the wall at the back of the compound, they allegedly lobbed tear gas.

“I don’t know if it’s true but, on our end, there is confirmation that they used that,” Torreon said.

The lawyer blamed the aggressive entry of the police teams for the KoJC members suffering heart attacks. The immediate cause of death of the KoJC member was severe shock and tension, he added.

Meanwhile, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased Quiboloy follower.

“I know that it is the job of the police to enforce the law but any aggressive act must be condemned since each Filipino life is important,” Go said.

“My consistent appeal to the PNP is for our police force to remain professional by doing your duty in accordance with the law and in a manner that fulfills your mandate to serve and protect every Filipino,” he added.

Conflicting claims

Police Maj. Catherine de la Rey, spokesperson of Police Regional Office 11 (PRO-11), said they found out from other members of the KoJC that the man who died had been restless since he was assigned to man the tower at the compound.

“It took a while for them to call an ambulance to transport the patient to the hospital,” she added.

It has been four months since the warrants of arrest were issued against Quiboloy.

On 10 June, police officers, including elite Special Action Force (SAF) troops, went to five properties in Davao province belonging to Quiboloy to serve the arrest warrant. The group failed to find him and his co-accused.

The hunt to bring Quiboloy to court has been a long, if not a difficult, one for law enforcers, not just in the Philippines but also in the United States.

In an interview, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, PRO-11 regional director, said they used a “radar” that can detect a heartbeat and at the same time read a person’s body temperature in scanning the compound for Quiboloy.

Torre said they had identified strategic locations to deploy the radar and locate their target. He added he was certain that Quiboloy remained hidden inside the compound.

Power to be invisible?

“He’s there, they’re just hiding him. We will not leave here until we get him or his companions,” Torre said.

He said they could “hardly move” inside the KoJC compound, suspecting the sect leader of playing games with the law enforcers.

“This arrest warrant that we are implementing against that person involves gruesome cases of human trafficking and child abuse,” Torre said.

He said they had searched only about 30 percent of the compound as of Saturday afternoon. “In this kind of system (of search), a full search couldn’t be done in one day.”

“We will work hard until the Pastor will realize that we will not leave here until we catch him or his colleagues,” he added.

Torre said they had seen children’s rooms with the names of young girls inside the compound.

He said the police still had to search around 42 buildings inside the compound, with one of the buildings estimated to be five hectares long.

He admitted the police had no search warrant on hand when they entered the KoJC compound.