The Philippine Army on Tuesday said it is ready to cooperate should the Philippine National Police requests their assistance in providing information on determining whether reservists are part of Apollo Quiboloy’s alleged private army, which the police earlier tagged as “angels of death.”
This was after PNP Davao Police Chief Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III mentioned that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC)’s army reservists were part of an armed group operating under Quiboloy’s will.
“Meron talaga. Accredited sila kaya lang as time went by, nawawala ang control lalo na itong panahon na ito na noong kailangan nilang proteksyunan kahit mali na, kasi ang loyalty nila na kay Quiboloy (There are. They are accredited but as time went by, they loost control especially when they needed to protect Quiboloy, even when he was already wrong, because of their loyalty),” Torre said in a radio interview over the weekend.
“Nalihis sila ng landas. Nawala na ang accreditation nila sa mga security unit. Nagsarili sila. Talagang reservist ang mga ‘yan (They strayed from the path. They lost their accreditation from the security unit and went on their own. They are indeed reservists)," he added.
However, Army Public Affairs Deputy Chief Col. Rey Balido said it has not yet received any reports that KOJC members who were trained as army reservists are indeed part of Quiboloy’s private army.
“We will closely coordinate with our law enforcement agencies because they are the ones who are in charge of that we will make the proper coordination with our law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Balido stressed that some individuals working for the KOJC’s broadcast arm, Sonshine Media Network International, were accredited as part of the Philippine Army's Reservist Affiliated Unit last 2015.
“They are called the Second Signal Battalion, Philippine Army Reserve Unit, Affiliated Reserve Unit, we tapped them because of their expertise in communications. But as to their involvement, we will closely coordinate with our law enforcement agency's counterparts and we will provide you updates if there are any,” he said.
Balido also noted that the Philippine Army has no control over these reservists unless called upon during national emergencies or wartime.
The PNP earlier said it has identified some members of Quiboloy's alleged private army, tasked to scare and hurt KOJC members who divulge the religious leader’s secrets.
Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said they are prepared to impose sanctions on reservists involved in illegal activities or unbecoming conduct.
“As of now, we do not have reports that members of the 2nd Signal Reservist Bn are involved in the alleged ‘Angel of Deaths.’ However, depending on the result of the PNP investigation, if found out na meron nga reservists involved they will be dealt with accordingly,” Dema-ala told the DAILY TRIBUNE in a text message.
“We will wait for the PNP reports or requests and rest assured that the Philippine Army will support our PNP law enforcers,” he added.
According to Dema-ala, a total of 540 reservists are accredited under the KOJC’s Second Reservist Signal Battalion, with two officer reservists and 538 enlisted reservists, who are deployed nationwide.
No private armies, only warriors
Meanwhile, Lawyer Israelito Torreon, Quiboloy's legal counsel, denied that KOJC has a private army being utilized as “angels of death.”
"That is not true. I hope the public will not believe this latest tirade of attacks against Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy,” he told the DAILY TRIBUNE in a text message.
“If this is true, then this private army would have surely been unleashed during the 16 days KOJC siege where the members were subjected to so much violence and trampling of their constitutional and human rights,” Torreon stressed.
“Yet, you never saw even one of them brandish a firearm in order to retaliate against the policemen. Instead, you saw bread and food being given to the policemen by the KOJC members,” he added.
"Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy has millions of private prayer warriors, not a private army," he added.