A Davao court made the hunt for fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy that much harder.
After the Philippine National Police (PNP) sent a contingent numbering around 2,000 officers to the sprawling Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City where Quiboloy is believed to be hiding, Davao Regional Trial Court branch 15 issued a temporary protection order (TPO) against the PNP.
That order stated that the police must stop any act that “threatens the life, liberty, or security” of KOJC members.
The order came after a middle-aged member of the church passed away due to a heart attack while standing guard at the compound. Police said the death was not related to their action, as the deceased was known to have an underlying condition.
KOJC members celebrated the court action on the mistaken belief that the PNP forces had been ordered to leave the compound.
This was not stated in the TPO, and the Department of Interior and Local Government said the PNP could proceed with their search for the pastor, who has been in hiding for months after refusing to attend Senate and House hearings on the cases filed against him.
The PNP said they believed Quiboloy and his co-accused were hiding out in an underground bunker inside the compound.
Police have only been able to inspect the secret passageways in buildings inside the 30-hectare compound, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said last week.
“We have not yet penetrated the underground facility because it is really dug deep in the ground,” she told local media.
Police say the entrance to Quiboloy’s secret bunker had not yet been found but their equipment had detected “signs of life” below the surface.
Among the equipment used by the police is ground penetrating radar.
The PNP spokesperson described the hideout as a “doomsday” bunker. One of the beliefs of the cult is that the biblical end times are approaching and that Quiboloy was their only source of salvation.
Materials used in the bunker can withstand natural as well as man-made disasters, said Fajardo.
Despite denials by KOJC members, she added that it is an open secret in Davao that the religious organization has an underground bunker.
Based on information gathered by the PNP, Fajardo said the underground facility was being used by Quiboloy and his co-accused to hide from authorities, despite suspicions that they had flown out of the country in a private jet owned by the pastor.
Quiboloy and company are wanted on charges of qualified human trafficking and child abuse.
The search party’s efforts to locate and arrest Quiboloy has been hampered by the resistance put up by the members of the church, as well as legal efforts from its lawyers.
KOJC legal counsel Israelito Torreon said last week that the continued “occupation” of the compound by the police was an illegal occupation, as they were only authorized to serve a warrant of arrest for Sylvia Cemañes, one of Quiboloy’s co-accused.
Torreon pointed out that according to the warrant presented by the PNP, Cemañes’ address is in Pasig City.
Since the warrant had already been received by the KOJC, the PNP’s mission was already completed and there was no longer any legal basis for them to occupy the compound, said Torreon.
The KOJC also stated that Quiboloy continued to evade arrest out of fear for his life.
Besides the PNP, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation is also after Quiboloy for crimes allegedly committed in the US.
Quiboloy had asked the government to issue a written guarantee that he would not be arrested in the Philippines by a foreign power.
The Justice department, however, said that it could not block the US from arresting Quiboloy by virtue of an extradition treaty between the US and the Philippines.
