Several members of the House of Representatives called out former President Rodrigo Duterte, his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte and their close associates for their steadfast support for accused human trafficker Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante on Sunday took a swipe at Duterte for his outspoken defense of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader, who continues to evade arrest.
“It is ironic that today former President Rodrigo Duterte is speaking out in defense of the rights of his friend, when he attached very little value to human rights during his administration’s war on illegal drugs,” the lawmaker said.
“The rights of every Filipino should be respected whether they be pastor or pauper,” he said.
Abante is also a Christian pastor.
“Perhaps if the former president had emphasized the importance of human rights during his administration, then we would not have to investigate the thousands of extrajudicial killings that occurred during his presidency’s war on drugs,” he added.
He said it is “a tragic irony” that the statement of the former president “has come out while the Quad Comm probe is investigating the Duterte administration’s drug war that killed thousands of Filipinos, orphaned so many children, and traumatized families.”
“Unlike the victims of the war on drugs, Quiboloy was afforded due process. Not one but two courts issued warrants of arrest. The police went in to his compound with the end in view of arresting and detaining him. Even now, if he surrenders to authorities, Quiboloy will have his day in court,” he maintained.
“Unfortunately and tragically, thousands of our kababayan who were slain during the war on drugs were not given the same opportunity,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, two members of the so-called “Young Guns” of Congress backed former senator Leila de Lima’s call on Duterte to simply help authorities enforce the warrant of arrest against Quiboloy, and refrain from making unnecessary criticisms.
Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon jointly urged Duterte to stop speaking ill of law enforcers who are duty-bound to serve a warrant of arrest against the elusive televangelist.
“We support Senator De Lima’s pronouncement that the ex-President should be helping authorities enforce the warrant of arrest against his ally Quiboloy. As a former president, he should be all for upholding the law at all times, no exceptions,” Acidre said.
“We hope the former president refrains from issuing statements that tend to sow confusion and divide the Filipino nation based on a very faulty line of reasoning,” he aded.
Meanwhile, Bongalon said, “as a former president, he is the first person who should uphold the rule of law.”
He appealed to Duterte to exercise “delicadeza” (sense of propriety) and refrain from making additional comments on the matter.
The solons made these comments after the former president released an official statement calling on “the remaining decent and patriotic members of our government” to stand against enforcing illegal orders.
“We call on all Filipinos, regardless of political persuasion, to offer prayers for peace and justice, and to spare our people of the unwarranted tension brought about by the reign of fear and terror by people sworn to uphold the law and protect the citizens of this country,” Duterte said.
He also challenged the administration on its ability to preserve the constitutional rights of Filipinos when they are “being blatantly violated.”
“Rights have been trampled upon and our laws, derided,” he stated.
Echoing her father, Vice President Duterte condemned the “gross abuse of police power” during a large-scale operation conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound.
The KOJC raid was launched early Saturday morning in Davao City for the arrest of fugitive pastor Apollo Quiboloy and led to the death of one KOJC member who suffered a heart attack during the operation.
Duterte made it clear that she was not against the issued warrant of arrest but with the use of violence during the raid where religious worshipers were also harassed and minors were abused.
“These acts are not only a blatant violation of Constitutionally-protected rights but a betrayal of the trust that we, Filipinos, place in the very institution sworn to protect and serve us. I can’t help but ask myself if the use of unnecessary force and unjust abuse to ordinary Filipinos, in order to implement the warrant of arrest, is prompted by the accused being a Duterte-supporter?” she remarked.
“I would like to ask for the forgiveness of all members and devotees of KOJC for persuading and appealing to you to vote for BongBong Marcos Jr. in 2022. I hope you can forgive me. You deserve better. Filipinos deserve better.”
Reacting to the Vice President’s comments,” Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V slammed the Vice President for “diverting” public attention the the reasons why Quiboloy is being sought by the law in the first place.
“This is a clear attempt to deflect from the real issue at hand, which is Quiboloy’s refusal to submit to the law. Instead of apologizing for political choices, the Vice President should be focusing on ensuring that her ally faces justice,” Khonghun said.
For his part, Ortega said “It’s disheartening to see Vice President Duterte try to shift the narrative by invoking her role in the last election. The reality is that this situation is about holding a fugitive accountable for his actions, not about who voted for whom in 2022.”
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Abante slams Duterte’s double standard on human rights over Quiboloy manhunt”
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