LEGAL counsel for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) questions the use of elite forces of the Philippine National Police in the simultaneous raids on their religious compounds, citing the unarmed status of church missionaries.
“Why use the SAF? If you’re certain that the person you’re looking for is where you’re going, why the need for the SAF? The first two times they served the warrant of arrest, it was peaceful. So why do they need the SAF this third time?” according to Atty. Dinah Tolentino-Fuentes, Legal Counsel, KOJC.
Who could forget the scene outside the KOJC religious compound in Davao City on June 10th?
The deployment of such a large force, fully geared authorities, can be considered ‘overkill.’
Why did they need the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police, accompanied by the forces of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group or CIDG, to serve the warrant of arrest for Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy and five others?
It’s just puzzling because, honestly, there’s no reason to send this kind of force to a religious compound.
And the ones to face the heavily-armed authorities – the church missionaries who have no weapons at all.
And despite the tension caused by the police’s insistence on entering the KOJC religious compound – even though they’ve harassed, the missionaries, Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy’s workers still offered them food and drinks.
The violence and cruelty they inflicted on the church’s missionaries were met with pure kindness.
That is why, Atty. Dinah Tolentino-Fuentes asks the police – where are these so-called ‘lawless elements in KOJC’?
“I look up what does Special Action Force is supposed to do. Number 1 is “to conduct counter-terrorism” operation in urban and rural areas, to conduct commando type and conventional warfare against lawless elements. Lawless elements ba itong mga nasa Glory Mountain? They are missionaries. There are families living there with children. These are not lawless elements,” stated Atty. Tolentino.
In the CCTV footage from the KOJC religious compound at Glory Mountain, it’s clear to see the forced entry of armed police into the area.
And they didn’t just enter, they destroyed the gate despite the KOJC missionaries’ request to wait for the KOJC lawyer before allowing them to enter.
But they couldn’t wait.
Instead, they destroyed the gate of the Glory Mountain compound and forcefully entered the premises.
According to Atty. Israelito Torreon, the large number of armed authorities serving the warrant of arrest to religious persons with no record of involvement in terrorism violates the doctrine of proportionality.
“It’s also violative under Rule 113, Section 2, because it states in the rules of court that no violence or unnecessary force shall be used in making an arrest. So, that’s the principle of proportionality. There is no doctrine of proportionality. Oh, count them, how many are there, they want to arrest just one person or maybe 5 others, but there are so many of them, all armed, special armed force, special action force. This is designed to combat terrorists, but the members of KOJC are not terrorists. They are religious persons. They have no prior record of engaging in terrorism,” according to Atty. Israelito Torreon, Legal Counsel, KOJC.
One week after the tragic incident at the KOJC religious compounds, the missionaries of KOJC remain traumatized. From the sheer number of authorities that stormed the religious compounds to their harassment of unarmed church workers, the cruelty of the police, who promised to protect us, will never be forgotten.
