“To members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church and all citizens who uphold the rule of law, June 10, 2024 will go down as a day of infamy.
Heavily armed battalions of the Philippine National Police–Special Action Force and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group raided various church compounds in Barangay Buhangin and Tamayong, Davao City; Glory Mountain in QSands Baptismal Resort, Samal Island; and Kitbog Compound, Malungon, Sarangani province ostensibly in a coordinated effort to serve warrants of arrest on Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
Except for the over-publicized arrest warrants, the raiders did not present any search warrant in all of the church properties raided by the law-enforcement agencies. This is a clear violation of the law. It was an overkill in any language.
This act cannot go unpunished.
While I am saddened to do this given my personal, and in the past official, support for the police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, my duties as Administrator of Church Properties demand that I take legal and appropriate action. In line with this, I have ordered not only the preparation of affidavits of all members aggrieved and traumatized by the said unfortunate incident but also an inventory of church properties destroyed as a consequence.
It is incumbent not only upon the church but also upon officers of the law to take appropriate action considering that the said trespass was beamed by social media all over the world and thus sent the wrong signal that this country has become a police state with no respect for the law and religious institutions. While the damage has been done, the opportunity is there to rectify the errors brought about by the trampling of basic rights in the conduct of this illegal raid by granting the reliefs and legal remedies provided by law.
It is unfortunate that the obsession of this administration to demonize Pastor Quiboloy even before he could be convicted by a court of law is a clear maneuver to divert attention from the deepening crisis spawned by corruption, incompetence and abuse of authority.
Again, it is with a heavy heart that I am constrained to take action against all those responsible for the coordinated but illegal raid. Notwithstanding my personal convictions, the law must be upheld. Let this be a warning and a lesson for all those who follow and implement illegal and unlawful orders that there are grave consequences for blind obedience.“
