Efforts to twist the police operation at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KoJC) compound in Davao City into a political distraction are not gaining any headway since the public knows it can’t be anything else but a police matter.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. broke his silence on the non-issue that should not have involved him if not for the efforts of elements out to destabilize the government by pinning the alleged police abuse on Palace orders.
KoJC members keeping an unending coverage on the police actions have accused Marcos of initiating an overkill in the hunt for the fugitive KoJC head with more than 2,000 policemen deployed in conspiracy with the United States government.
Quiboloy is facing human trafficking and child sex abuse raps both in the Philippines and the US.
He is thus a fugitive who is in no position to set the terms for his arrest, which Marcos hinted at when he said the cult leader was trying to wag the dog when he sent a 30-minute video setting conditions for his surrender.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Quiboloy is sinking deeper into the breach keeping himself hidden while seeking a guarantee from the government.
Quiboloy’s only option is to give up “not according to his terms but according to the terms of the law. The law applies to all, without exception,” Remulla stressed.
The only guarantee the government can give is for his safety while in custody and fair court proceedings.
Quiboloy in a recorded video said he would not surface unless the Marcos administration gave him a written guarantee that the US would not interfere in his cases in the Philippines.
His message in the video was also addressed to the Philippine National Police, the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Remulla said the evidence gathered by the Department of Justice (DoJ) was strong enough to pin down the preacher.
“Argue your charges before the court where you are the accused, tell the naked truth, that way you can redeem yourself,” Remulla advised Quiboloy.
He said another arrest warrant is being prepared against Quiboloy by a Pasig City court for qualified human trafficking.
The KoJC head can also rely on the word of Marcos who shrugged off Quiboloy’s fear the US government would interfere in his cases in the Philippines.
Of course, it goes without saying that the pastor has to deal with his cases in the US where he is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list.
In 2021, the US Justice Department charged Quiboloy with sex trafficking of girls and women aged 12 to 25 to work as his personal assistants, or “pastorals,” who were allegedly required to have sex with him. A federal warrant was issued for his arrest on 10 November 2021.
The Senate had ordered Quiboloy’s arrest for contempt after he snubbed committee hearings on the alleged sexual abuses committed against members of his sect.
Quiboloy has claimed to have a divine appointment that is not reflected in the way he has acted thus far. Paranoia is also starting to take hold of Quiboloy who claims there is a US plot to kidnap or assassinate him.
Also, while prolonging his agony, Quiboloy appears to be stoking political friction by hiding.
Marcos said the government, while searching for Quiboloy inside the KoJC compound, ensured the safety of the KoJC members.
“All the police officers who came in were unarmed, not one of them had a gun. We didn’t use tear gas, we didn’t do anything like that. So where’s the human rights violation?” Marcos said.
The President turned the tables on the KoJC head, saying that by refusing to be held to account, he was putting his innocent followers in harm’s way.
Currently, Quiboloy is showing that he is not the “Appointed Son of God,” as he has often claimed, but a lowdown fugitive.