There would be no letup in the police's search for fugitive Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy and his aides inside the religious group's compound in Davao City, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Tuesday.
DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. made the clarification after the Davao City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 issued a temporary protection order (TPO) in favor of the KOJC and ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to remove all forms of barricades, barriers or blockades that prevent the group's members from accessing the compound.
“What the order stated is to remove all forms of barricades, barriers or blockade that bar the access to and from the subject compound and hinder petitioner’s religious and academic property rights and the pursuit thereof by its officers and members within the surrounding premises,” Abalos said in a phone interview.
“But it did not specifically say that the police must stop the operation. This will continue and I guarantee that this operation to find Pastor Quiboloy will continue,” he added.
The DILG chief said the police will comply with the TPO.
He said the search for Quiboloy inside the compound, which began early Saturday, is yielding "positive developments."
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, affirmed that the TPO will not affect the validity of the warrant issued against Quiboloy
“The PNP was ordered to remove all forms of barricades, barriers, and blockades that bar access to and from the KOJC and JMCFI (Jose Maria College Foundation, Inc.) compound and hinder petitioners’ religious, academic, and proprietary rights. This does not deter the service of the warrant," SC spokesperson Camille Ting told reporters.
No reason to celebrate
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo confirmed that the police received the TPO issued by the Davao court but will file a clarificatory petition before the RTC.
She said the police submitted a report to the RTC that implementing the warrant of arrest will continue.
“We indicated in our progress report the reason why we should stay in the area. It's because we have reasonable ground to believe based on information provided by the informant and our technical equipment that we have. We have reason to believe that the suspects we are looking for are inside the compound," Fajardo said in a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Fajardo also called on KOJC counsels to explain to its members that the court did not order the police to stop the search for Quiboloy.
Citing the Police Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-11) report, Fajardo said the ground penetrating radar detected heartbeats from two persons inside the bunker, which is believed to be around 20 to 30 meters below the ground.
Fajardo said that for as long as it is needed, cops searching for Quiboloy will stay at the KOJC compound.
“Until such time we are satisfied in the search because there are informants saying that he (Quiboloy) is there, and we are really monitoring the movement that our equipment is detecting underground,” said Fajardo. (With a report from Benjamin Pulta/PNA)
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