Panelo issues statement slamming KOJC operation

Salvador Panelo, former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Presidential Spokesperson under President Rodrigo Duterte, has issued a statement condemning the Philippine National Police's (PNP) operation on 24 August, 2024, at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City. The police were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on the church's leader, Apollo Quiboloy, and several accomplices.

Below is his statement in full:

"Not content with its infamous, overkill, and unconstitutional simultaneous police operation on 10 June, 2024 on various Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compounds, in connection with the service of the warrant of arrest for the religious leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy — done with such brazen impunity and utter disrespect of the religious feelings of KOJC faithful and without regard to the constitutional rights to life, liberty and property of the religious workers and their families residing in the KOJC premises — resulting in their physical injuries, mental and emotional trauma on their minor children and destruction of KOJC properties — the Philippine National Police (PNP) launched another ignominious early morning assault on the KOJC today.

"Two to three thousand uniformed policemen taken from the different police detachments from the Davao region — armed with an alias warrant of arrest swooped down on the KOJC compound even as hundreds more of them were stationed and scattered on the streets around the KOJC complex creating an atmosphere of a war zone.

"Videos taken during the police operation posted in social media graphically recorded the event. They searched every nook and corner of the huge complex, even ridiculously and stupidly looking for their quarry in shoe racks, cabinet drawers and septic tanks.

"Despite the fact the warrant servers were allowed entry to the main entrance of the KOJC, their comrades were destroying the back door gate leading to the private hangar of KOJC, throwing tear gas bombs to the KOJC members who were roused from their sleep causing eye injuries and abrasions to them as they scampered to safety. One of them suffered a heart attack and died evidently as a result of the unnecessary violence inflicted on an unarmed and defenseless civilians.

"While criminality is on the upswing requiring police presence in criminal infested areas, the PNP Chief instead of adding policemen in those sensitive areas opted to take more than a thousand of them uprooted from their assigned stations and use them to serve a warrant of arrest to one man at the KOJC.

"Not only is taxpayer money wasted on such a failed police activity, creating fear on peace loving Davaoeños by their unwanted and overwhelming presence, the PNP leadership has shamelessly place their troops to their wild as most them suffer hunger and thirst forcing them to lie and sleep on the pavement and on the ground to rest their weary bodies.

"The President must intervene on this on-going monstrous irregularity and illegality. The PNP is tasked to enforce the law, not to violate it, to protect the people, not scare them, to shield the citizenry from criminal violence, not to inflict it on them. "