MANILA, Philippines — Members of the “church” of the fugitive doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy used a backhoe to prevent the police from entering the Kingdom of Jesus Christ Compound (KOJC) in Davao City, Region XI Police Director Nicolas Torre III said on Sunday.
In an interview with SuperRadyo DZBB, Torre said that some cops who were part of the raid of the KOJC compound on Saturday got wounded after the church’s members used a backhoe to stop them from entering.
“Kaya medyo nasugatan talaga. May mga 14 inches ang inabot ng kamay ng isang tao natin,” Torre said.
(So there were injuries. One of our men had a wound on his hand running 14 inches long.)
The incident occurred during the service of the warrant of arrest against Quiboloy on Saturday when the Philippine National Police utilized 2,000 personnel to raid the compound.
One of the preacher’s lawyers, Israelito Torreon, who also met with the police during the raid, denied Torre’s claims, stating that KOJC members did not prevent the PNP from entering.
“As a matter of fact, he gave KOJC 30 minutes to open the gate despite the fact that he only showed one warrant of arrest which KOJC complied,” Torreon told Philstar.com.
As of Sunday afternoon, the PNP once again entered the KOJC compound.
‘Police used tear gas’
In a message to Philstar.com, Torreon said that the police used tear gas against members of the KOJC.
“What is now on record is the fact that before ten minutes elapsed, his men destroyed the back and eastern portion of the walls in order to gain entry and utilized tear gas against the members of KOJC,” Torreon said.
A KOJC member passed away due to heart attack during the police operation.
Aside from the fatality, Torreon also said four other individuals suffered heart attack while four minors suffered severe anxiety attacks.
Sixteen people were also injured, according to the lawyer.
Davo region police’sTorre, however, denied the claims that his personnel were using tear gas. According to him, there was a KOJC member who used a fire extinguisher against the police.
“Sinabi nila, ang mga pulis daw ay may dala ng tear gas, which is a very big lie,” the police chief said in an interview with DZBB.
(They said the police had tear gas with them, which is a very big lie.)
The top cop also stressed that the one person who died had no direct contact with the police during the raid.
“Ang lumalabas, medyo may edad, vendor, tapos ang trabaho nito ay watchman du’n sa isa sa mga towers nila. High rise ‘yung tower niya eh. Siguro sa pagod lang tapos eh hindi na niya nakayanan kaya ayun, nag-collapse,” Torre said in the radio interview.
(It appears that the person was an elderly vendor who also worked as a watchman at one of their towers. The tower he was assigned to is a high-rise one. He was probably just exhausted and could not take it anymore, which is why he collapsed.)
This marks the second time the PNP has raided Quiboloy’s compound to serve arrest warrants related to child and sexual abuse charges, as well as a non-bailable charge of trafficking in persons against the pastor.
These warrants were previously issued by Pasig City and Davao City courts.
Quiboloy is also facing outstanding warrants in the United States for child and sexual trafficking, fraud, coercion, conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling.
The first raid on July 10, another attempt to apprehend Quiboloy, was similarly condemned by former President Rodrigo Duterte, who also serves as the KOJC property administrator.
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