The Philippine National Police (PNP) is filing sedition charges against officials and members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church for instigating protest actions during the manhunt for its leader, Apollo Quiboloy, in an apparent attempt to distract officers involved in the search inside the group’s sprawling compound in Davao City.
“Tomorrow or the next day, we will finalize and file the cases against the personalities we have identified,” Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, chief of Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11), said in a television interview.
“That includes the inciting to sedition in the rally they did on the second day and also the conspiracy to commit inciting to sedition,” he told Dobol B TV on Tuesday.
Torre said that “more than 10 people” will be charged but refused to divulge their names to avoid them taking preemptive action.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Army (PA) said on Monday is coordinating with the PNP to verify reports about the existence of KOJC’s so-called “Angels of Death” private army.
In a press briefing, Colonel Reynaldo Balido, PA deputy chief of public affairs, said the military will share relevant intelligence with the PNP when it becomes available.
“We are closely coordinating with PNP counterparts, as they are the ones conducting the law enforcement operation… but if we receive any information, we will provide them with updates,” the deputy spokesperson assured.
He said the PA is also verifying if any army reservists are employed at SMNI– the media arm of KOJC.
“You may recall that SMNI employees were accredited as Army reservists last 2015, so they are called the Second Signal Battalion Army reservist unit. We tapped their services because of their expertise in the communications… but as far as their involvement [in the Angel of Death], we will closely coordinate with law enforcement agencies.” Balido said in a mixture of English and Filipino.
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