WE condemn the violence, brutality and inhumane behavior of the Philippine National Police (PNP), supposedly the sworn protectors of the Filipino citizenry, which sent hundreds of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Special Action Force (SAF) soldiers in full battle gear with high powered weapons, during its simultaneous illegal assault of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ religious compounds in Davao City at dawn of June 10, 2024.
Without presenting a search warrant, they forcibly destroyed our gates, climbed the walls, and entered without permission and without informing our Property Administrator, former President Rodrigo Duterte, in advance of their intentions.
They completely ignored our respectful requests and pleas to wait for our lawyers so that we can rightfully address their purpose to serve an arrest warrant for Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, who is facing arrest because of crimes he is innocent of.
We denounce the deployment of the CIDG and the SAF, which conduct commando type unconventional warfare in areas of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency, in our peaceful and sacred places of worship and home to thousands of full-time missionary workers and their families.
We are not terrorists nor insurgent rebels fighting the government, but peaceful servants of God and our fellowmen. Why did they conduct this kind of operation in our religious compounds?
We deplore the outright violation of our human rights by our own police force. These rights are enshrined in our own Philippine Constitution.
We cry for justice to the law of our land and ask our government, which had sent these forces, to hold in accountability all those responsible for the planning, execution and support of this inhuman attack that did not follow the due process of law and did not adhere to the PNP rules of engagement.
Instead of the PNP’s sworn promise in its law enforcement code of ethics to “serve mankind” and to “safeguard life and property”, the PNP trampled upon our human rights, endangered our very lives, and desecrated our places of worship by urinating on our carefully tended gardens.
The PNP savagely kicked, hit, manhandled, pushed, and treated with brute force innocent children, women, senior citizens and missionary workers, as they rammed right into innocent missionary workers and their families who had gathered behind the gates in our Glory Mountain compound in Calinan, Davao City, to protect their homes and our consecrated places of worship and defend themselves from assaulting soldiers.
The SAF soldiers even cocked their guns at pointed them at the female missionaries and minors, who kept pleading with them to stop their assault.
This is a clear violation of the PNP’s sworn oath to “protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation.”
We denounce the unjust and warrantless arrest of eight innocent fulltime missionary workers from our Glory Mountain compound, including two minors, whom they had injured and handcuffed and brought to the PNP office in Calinan on false pretenses of getting them medically treated and instead got mugshots of them and forced them to sign documents. The PNP then filed a case against six of these missionary workers.
We hold the PNP responsible for the injuries and trauma experienced by our children, because of the raw violence at the hands of our police force.
Our children are in shock and are exhibiting signs of confusion and stress as a result of their shattered sense of security for the loss of their safe environment. They will carry this trauma with them for a long time.
We deplore the PNP’s false narrative of what took place during their siege of our religious compounds, openly lying in their statements and press conferences.
We look towards our government, for compassion, truth and fairness in the investigation of this brutal incident, and towards our God in heaven, who is close to the brokenhearted, hears our cries of help, and delivers us from harm.
