ON Monday, armed authorities besieged various compounds of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in Davao City in search of and to arrest Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.
The KOJC Compound near the airport was attempted to be entered by police in the early hours while members and missionaries were praying.
In Barangay Tamayong, clashes occurred, and the gate was destroyed after the Special Action Force and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police forcibly entered the “Glory Mountain,” a sanctuary for KOJC missionaries.
The police were in full battle gear, while the missionaries, mostly women, only have their prayers.
Senator Robin Padilla finds the attack on KOJC painful to witness.
“I don’t want to expand on that because I said this is just the beginning, that’s my narrative… It’s sad because it’s not good to see that happening in a place that we know is a place of worship, being entered by uniformed personnel, it’s a bit painful to witness,” said Sen. Robin Padilla.
The senator reminds that attacking a church is a violation of the law.
Based on Article 132, Section 4 of the Revised Penal Code, imprisonment is the punishment for any public officer or employee who disrupts or becomes violent in a church activity.
Meanwhile, Article 133 specifies punishment for anyone who hurts the beliefs of devotees, especially if done in a place of worship.
“For me, we should really have a separation. Let’s separate the religion of the person from, PACQ is a pastor, he is not worshipped by the people of the Kingdom. He is the pastor, but KOJC worships a god. And that’s what we should respect, and that’s in the Constitution,” Padilla added.
The violence shown by the police towards the missionaries was also deemed inappropriate by Padilla, especially since Pastor Apollo was not even there.
“If there is evidence that Pastor is there, maybe we can say, as a criminologist, there’s a warrant, they can do that. But is Pastor there? That’s the question. Pastor isn’t there, no arrest happened. People in the church were scared. These are things that should be avoided,” he stressed.
Following Padilla, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino or the political party PDP also issued a statement.
The party is concerned about the way justice is being sought and human rights are being protected by the current administration.
“This incident raises serious concerns about the current administration’s approach to justice and the protection of constitutional rights. Many of us may relate to the questions raised by former President Duterte: How can this administration guarantee the protection of our fundamental rights when such flagrant abuses are taking place?” according to Partido Demokratiko Pilipino.
PDP questioned how rights can be protected when there are rampant abuses happening.
