Ferdinand Marcos, president of the Philippines, defended on Tuesday ( Aug 27 ) the deployment of 2, 000 police over the weekend to detain an influential pastor who is a long-time friend of the nation’s former president.
Police think Apollo Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “owner of the universe” and “appointed son of god”, is hiding in a bunker at the sprawling compound owned by his church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ ( KOJC), in the southern city of Davao.
Quiboloy is wanted on suspicion of human trafficking and baby and sexual abuse. He denies wrong.
Marcos claimed that the officers rollout on Saturday was meant to make the area safe and secure around the church’s grounds.
” And considering that this is a 30-hectare ( 74-acre ) compound, you really need plenty of people, not just a dozen police”, Marcos told reporters.
His remarks come after former president Rodrigo Duterte and his girl, Vice President Sara Duterte, have been criticized for handling the case. The pair, who were once supporters of Marcos but have since sided ways, have accused police of abuse of power and freedom violations.
In a speech, Sara Duterte stated that” these functions are a blatant violation of constitutionally protected rights as well as a betrayal of the faith we, Filipinos, place in the very establishment sworn to protect and provide us.”
According to a policeman director, Quiboloy’s supporters reportedly blocked the compound’s wall to stop hundreds of shield-carrying officers from enforcing a judge order to arrest the apostle preacher.
The officers “have turned the Kingdom of Jesus Christ substance into a garrison”, Israelito Torreon, Quiboloy’s attorney, told ANC information stream on Tuesday.
Quiboloy, who likewise figures on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted listing, is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where religion officials hold large influence in elections.
Sara Duterte said in a statement that she regrets persuading people of Quiboloy’s religion to voting for Marcos two years ago. Her subsequent departure from Marcos ‘ government sealed the break-up of the empire they forged in a 2022 election.