VP cites abuse of power in raid of Quiboloy house

VICE-PRESIDENT (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio on Sunday condemned what she called “gross abuse of police power” after law enforcers served a warrant for the arrest of a church leader who is facing sex and human trafficking charges.

“I cannot help but ask whether the use of extraordinary force and unjust abuse to serve the warrant is because the accused is a Duterte supporter,” Ms. Duterte-Carpio said in a statement, after about 2,000 backed by riot squads surrounded the 30-hectare compound of Apollo C. Quiboloy in Davao City on Saturday morning.

They did not find him.

Ms. Duterte-Carpio said the police takeover of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ’s compound was “not only a blatant violation of constitutionally protected rights but a betrayal of trust” by an institution “sworn to protect and serve us.”

“I want to ask for forgiveness from all the members, devotees and constituents of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, for encouraging and begging you to vote for Bongbong Marcos, Jr. in 2022,” she said, using President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s nickname. “May you forgive me.”

Mr. Quiboloy and five other members of his church are facing charges of child abuse and human trafficking, with two courts from Davao City in southern Philippines and Pasig City in Metro Manila having ordered their arrest.

The Senate has separately ordered his arrest for snubbing its own investigation of the church.

United States federal prosecutors in 2021 indicted Mr. Quiboloy for having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation.”

Charges also included sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.

The Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11) in Davao in a statement on Saturday confirmed the death of 51-year-old Edwin Cabatbat, who was pronounced dead on arrival at the Southern Philippines Medical Center after losing consciousness while guarding one of the church’s watchtowers.

“PRO 11 expresses deep condolences regarding Mr. Cabatbat’s passing and emphasizes that the police were simply fulfilling their duty in executing the warrant of arrest for Pastor Quiboloy, who has been evading law enforcement,” it said.

Videos circulating on social media showed Mr. Quiboloy’s followers yelling at the police while filming the raid with their mobile phones.

Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte had described earlier attempts to arrest his spiritual adviser as overkill, citing large numbers of cops deployed for the mission.

Police have justified the large number of cops deployed for the Saturday raid, saying the compound has 40 buildings and structures and citing heckling efforts by Mr. Quiboloy’s followers.

Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police raided the same compound and four other properties in June, but Mr. Quiboloy was not found.

Mr. Marcos, Ms. Duterte-Carpio’s running-mate in the 2022 elections, in July defended the multimillion-peso bounty for Mr. Quiboloy and his associates.

In her statement, Ms. Duterte-Carpio expressed regret for endorsing Mr. Marcos during the 2022 presidential election.

“The Dutertes are pretty predictable and parochial when it comes to their actions now that they are out of national power,” said Hansley A. Juliano, who teaches political science at the Ateneo de Manila University.

“This is predictable, about how they think they’re entitled to determine what is moral and upright when it benefits them, but immoral and unacceptable when not,” he added.

Mr. Duterte had appeared in the news programs of Mr. Quiboloy to promote his anti-illegal drug crackdowns, which are now being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC probe covers crimes committed in Davao City from November 2011 to June 2016 when he was still its mayor, as well as cases during his presidency up until March 16, 2019, the day before the Philippines withdrew from the ICC.

“Sara Duterte brings nothing more than a cipher that represents her family’s interests, their barefaced hypocrisy and callousness with their family’s extrajudicial killing casualties, and why she should not be trusted with anything resembling high office,” Mr. Juliano said.

The Kabataan Party-list in a statement said Filipinos are the “biggest losers in the Marcos-Duterte rivalry.”

Party-list Rep. Raoul Danniel A. Manuel said the two camps seek to “outmaneuver” each other to “maintain their hold on power towards the 2025 elections and beyond.”

“We are at a point of no return,” he said. “The tandem that promised unity is quarreling in front of the people,” he added in Filipino, citing the need for alternative politics. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza