‘Desperate, foolish’: Youth group slams Duterte’s defense of Quiboloy

MANILA, Philippines — Ecumenical youth group Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) scoffed at former president Rodrigo Duterte’s condemnation of the Philippine National Police’s serving of arrest warrant against controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy.

“It is both desperate and foolish that outrage against human rights violations came from Rodrigo Duterte, when he himself became the biggest human rights violator during his administration!” SCMP national chairman Kej Andres said.

“This only shows how it is convenient for the likes of former president Duterte to invoke human rights when his benefactor is being put into justice, as he himself made pronouncements against human rights and enacted a ‘kill-kill-kill’ policy against thousands of innocents,” he added.

Duterte has been infamous for “implementing and instigating heinous policies which resulted in human rights violations, including the tokhang drug war, which killed more than 30,000, as well as policies on red-tagging and counter-insurgency which resulted in extrajudicial killings, warrantless arrests and vilification of activists and other innocent individuals,” according to Andres.

“While it is true that this Marcos Jr. administration has its foul share of human rights violations, we will never forget how a highlight of the Duterte administration is also blatant human rights violations, especially against the religious,” he said.

The SCMP leader gave a long list of alleged attacks against church people under Duterte, including the killings of Fr. Mark Ventura, Fr. Marcelito Paez, Pastor Lovelito Quiñones, Fr. Richmond Nilo, Neptali Morada, Putoy dela Cruz and Domingo Edo.

Those arrested included Pastor Dan San Andres, Mariel Domequil and Aldeem Yañez.

Andres also reminded that organizations such as the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, SCMP and other church leaders “have been red-tagged by both Quiboloy and state agents.”

In fact, “RMP and its key people were charged with terrorist-financing and have bank accounts frozen,” Andres said.

Former RMP head Sr. Patricia Fox was deported for being active on social causes in the Philippines.

Andres called on Quiboloy and Duterte to “surrender to the authorities for the crimes they have committed.”

“They have been weighed, and they have been found very much sinful against the Filipino people,” Andres reiterated. — Janvic Mateo, Jose Rodel Clapano, Neil Jayson Servallos, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Artmeio Dumlao