DAVAO COURT ISSUES TEMPORARY PROTECTION ORDER IN FAVOR OF KOJC OVER PNP

A DAVAO City court on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, has issued a temporary protection order (TPO) to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC), directing the police to stop any act that “threatens the life, liberty or security” of the religious group’s members.

The KOJC is founded by fugitive Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.

Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 Judge Mario Duaves said that the barricades “hinder religious and academic activities of petitioners’ officers, members, missionaries and students..

The judge issued the decision even as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. defended the ongoing police operations inside the KOJC compound, saying it is in accordance with the law.

Duaves also said that the “restrictions and control” that police imposed around the compound “noticeably trampled not only the property rights of the petitioners, its officers and members but also the exercise of their religious freedom and academic rights, which are guaranteed by the Constitution.”

The judge emphasized the urgency of the situation and instructed the PNP to remove all barricades or blockades that obstruct access to and from the KOJC compound.

“Hence, this court under the current situation, sees the urgency to direct the PNP XI  (Police Regional Office 11) to immediately cease and desist from any act or omission that threatens the life, liberty, or security as well as the properties of the petitioners,” the court’s order stated

“The PNP XI is hereby ordered to remove all forms of barricades, barriers or blockades that bar the access to and from the subject compound and hinder,” it added.

The ruling instructed the PNP to ensure that KOJC members have unrestricted access to their compound. Prior to that, police have barred the entry into the sprawling compound of unauthorized persons amid the ongoing search for Quiboloy.

POLICE WILL STAY IN KOJC COMPOUND  — DILG

Meanwhile, Department of the Interior and Local Government  (DILG) Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos Jr. said that although police will heed the court order and remove the barricades, they will not leave the estimated 30-hectare KOJC compound until Quiboloy is captured.

The DILG chief said that search operations for Quiboloy, who is the subject of arrests warrants for abuse and trafficking cases in courts in Davao City and in Pasig City, will continue without any let-up.

The Davao City court order was issued in the context of a July petition filed by the KOJC and the Jose Maria College Foundation seeking a writ of amparo while alleging that the PNP and the  DILG pose a threat to the life, liberty, and security of the petitioners.