Digong, Sara may face "obstruction of justice" case

CEBU, Philippines — Two lawyer-legislators raised the specter of former President Rodrigo Duterte being charged for wittingly or unwittingly helping hide for several months his fugitive-spiritual adviser Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who was arrested inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound in Davao City.

Representatives Joel Chua of Manila’s third district and Raul Angelo “Jil” Bongalon of Ako Bicol party-list hinted yesterday, September 9, the former Chief Executive can be sued for harboring a fugitive and for obstruction of justice, on the basis that they feigned innocence on the preacher’s specific whereabouts.

“Duterte, serving as the administrator of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound where Quiboloy was apprehended, cannot simply distance himself from this troubling situation,” remarked Chua, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability.

“His (Duterte’s) role within the KOJC compound places him at the center of this unfolding scandal, and the public deserves clear answers about his involvement,” Chua added, noting that Quiboloy’s own TV network Sonshine Media Network International designated Duterte as “caretaker.”

“The former president can, I think, fit in the definition of an accomplice,” Bongalon pointed out.

The Bicolano legislator also said that as a lawyer, Duterte should know what he speaks on.

“Being a lawyer also means being an officer of the court. Simply put, he should not be one who should be instrumental in the violation of the country’s laws,” Bongalon added.

“It can even be a basis for a petition for disbarment, more so if it can be proven that he did this deliberately – it means not to serve the ends of justice, which is obviously an infraction of the law,” Bongalon explained, adding “remember, he – for all intents and purposes – was a former president.”

He hinted that Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara, along with their good friend Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, can also be investigated, and even charged, for obstruction of justice for trying to divert policemen’s attention in serving Quiboloy’s warrant.

“As far as I’m concerned, the same principle applies to both of them. If the former president – who used to be the chief implementor of the country’s laws – can be charged for helping Quiboloy hide, then so should his daughter and the former PNP chief who is now a senator,” he explained.

“Let us remember that the VP herself declared that the good pastor has already left the country. And now with Quiboloy’s arrest, what does that make of her? Did she or did she not protect him and obstruct the administration of justice by diverting police’s attention?” Bongalon asked.

Further, as far as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is concerned, Quiboloy did not surrender to authorities.

For Pres. Marcos, Quiboloy was forced to surface because law enforcers were about to track him down.

Speaking to the media in Taguig yesterday, Marcos said a surrender involves going to a police station or an official authority because of a court order.

"Hindi ganyan ‘yung nangyari. Ang nangyari napilitan siyang lumabas dahil malapit na ang pulis sa kanya (That did not happen. What happened was he was forced to surface because the police officers were closing in on him)," the President said.

"The question that (was) being asked last night and until now, 'Did he surrender or was he caught?' I think that is a legal question. But I am thinking he would not have surfaced if we did not really pursue him," he added.

According to Marcos, Quiboloy, who was hunted down by the police for two weeks, did not want members of his religious group to die for him.

"To his credit, he said his followers were ready to die for him and he did not want it to happen. So to his credit...he was still displaying a modicum of leadership to his followers," he said.

Marcos said he was glad that the manhunt for Quiboloy was over. While Quiboloy's rights would be respected, he would not receive any special treatment, the President added.

"We can now resolve and look at the allegations that have been made against him," Marcos said.

"It is really with some relief that I can say that at least this part, this phase of that operation is now over. And we now leave Mr. Quiboloy to the judiciary, to the judicial system."

Marcos also gave an assurance that the legal process would be transparent and that everyone involved would be accountable.

"We will demonstrate, once again to the world, that our judicial system in the Philippines is active, is vibrant, and is working well. All right? Thank you," he said.

Quiboloy, the founder of King of Jesus Christ (KOJC) who claimed to be the "appointed son of God" is the subject of arrest warrants issued by the regional trial courts in Davao and Pasig.

The preacher is also on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's most wanted list for allegedly orchestrating a sex trafficking operation. A federal grand jury in California indicted him for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling. A federal warrant was issued for his arrest in 2021.

Quiboloy's camp has denied all the allegations and has decried a supposed conspiracy to tarnish his group.

No extradition request

Marcos said there is still no extradition request from the US for the transfer of Quiboloy. He added that the judicial process for the KOJC founder would proceed in the Philippines before an extradition is considered.

"The extradition request is not yet there. Besides the judicial processes that Apollo Quiboloy is going to have to go through now locally still have to be done...  Because we have --- what has been done is that we have implemented and enforced an arrest warrant that was issued by the court. And therefore it is now...in the court’s hands, it is no longer in the executive," the President said.

"We will have to look at that. But for the moment, we are not looking at extradition. What we are looking at are the cases and complaints filed in the Philippines and he needs to face them first," he added.

While KOJC members claimed that law enforcers involved in the manhunt had committed human rights violations, Marcos praised the police for the operation, which took place at the group's compound in Davao City. He reiterated that there was no intention to hurt Quiboloy's followers.

"I have to commend our PNP (Philippine National Police). This is police work at its best. This is what the PNP can do if led well and if there is understanding and good coordination among different agencies," Marcos said.

"We have seen that the police personnel were determined and my instruction to them last time was 'If we enter the area, do not leave until you get them.' And that’s exactly what they did. We had to engage so many parts of the agencies, the technical, intelligence services, everyone was involved...It was a police action that brought Apollo Quiboloy to the arms of the law."

Last month, Marcos said there was no human rights violation during the police operation and accused his critics of politicizing the enforcement of the arrest warrant against the KOJC leader.

Marcos said the operation was led by the PNP but the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had provided additional manpower so the assigned police officers could take some rest.

No Conditions

Marcos noted that over the last two or three weeks, the government had been getting messages and feelers stating that Quiboloy would surrender if some conditions are met, including a promise not to turn him over to the US.

"You know that it did not materialize because a fugitive cannot set conditions for his arrest. Nothing happened but we continued to get feelers," Marcos said.

"We were very clear to his people, his lawyer specifically, that he cannot set conditions. We said we would continue what we were doing… We were ordered by the court to enforce this order and that’s what we are going to do. And the putting of conditions is not an option for somebody who is actually a fugitive."

According to Marcos, the government got another message from its contacts between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. last Sunday stating that the embattled televangelist was ready to surrender.

"But he (Quiboloy) said the AFP should have a presence because he does not trust the police. So fine, that is what we did...I cannot remember the precise time - but by nine o'clock yesterday (Sept. 8) in the morning, I was able to say, “Go ahead...Agreed... to that scenario.” So, and that was it. So the talks continued," he said.

At 3:40 p.m., a C-130 plane flew to Davao to pick up Quiboloy, the President revealed. Authorities then proceeded to the KOJC compound. Quiboloy was brought to Manila because one of his cases will be tried in Pasig.

"What convinced Mr. Quiboloy was it was useless for him to hide, that he should surface," Marcos said. — (FREEMAN)