VP’s latest clapback

If we are to believe Vice President Sara Duterte, self-proclaimed son of God Pastor Apollo Quiboloy might possibly have slipped out of Davao City already. After attending the 39th founding anniversary of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) last Sept. 1, VP Duterte boldly declared this, coinciding with the 9th day of police takeover and stakeout at the KOJC compound.

As the second highest elected official of the land, the VP was not at all helping government authorities. In defense of the Dutertes’ family friend, VP Duterte could have set aside her local partisan and political differences for the higher national interest in their own political turf in Davao. To her credit though, she prayed with Quiboloy’s followers, whom she implored to keep close to their faith in trying to de-escalate tension at the KOJC.

A lawyer by profession, VP Duterte echoed her father’s criticisms against the police activities at the KOJC compound.

Quiboloy is a friend and “spiritual adviser” of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

But the police authorities were implementing the arrest and search warrants against Quiboloy et. al. Quiboloy is facing child abuse raps before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 106. This case was originally filed in Davao City RTC but was transferred to Quezon City for this non-bailable offense. Quiboloy and his co-accused are also facing cases of qualified human trafficking before the Pasig City RTC 159, likewise non-bailable crimes.

Armed with the court-issued arrest and search warrants, the police went in full force to the KOJC compound on Aug. 24. Based on confirmed intelligence information, Quiboloy along with his co-accused have been hiding in one of the secret underground structures purportedly around the KOJC compound. Using men, sniffing dogs and machines, combined police forces looked for Quiboloy for nearly two weeks.

The VP noted with concern what she had seen happening on the KOJC grounds. She cited the KOJC lawyers rightfully questioned before the courts the alleged “excess use of force” by the police. “The abuse of power remains to be determined by the courts…That remains with the courts if there is indeed abuse of authority. But if opinion only, definitely there is abuse of authority…wala tayo problema sa pag-implement ng search warrant, pero dapat masunod proper implementation of a search warrant,” the VP pointed out.

In the same ambush interview in Davao City, the VP recalled the Senate hearing on the human trafficking and child abuses allegations against the KOJC leader. “He (Quiboloy) had so much time to leave Davao City because the grandstanding in the Senate committee hearing also took a long time,” VP Duterte told the ABS-CBN news crew in Davao City.

“Ako, kung one guess kung nasaan si Pastor Quiboloy? Sa langit na!” VP Duterte jokingly retorted to media queries on where the controversial pastor was.

In particular, the VP adverted to the public hearing being conducted by Sen. Risa Hontiveros as chairperson of the Senate committee on women, family relations and gender equality on the accusations against Quiboloy. It was Sen. Hontiveros who filed the resolution in December 2023 that sought to look into the claims of former KOJC followers who accused Quiboloy of alleged sexual abuses on children and rape of some women.

Despite Senate summons which later became subpoenas, Quiboloy never attended the hearings that started last January until it was suspended in March this year.

Thankfully, Quiboloy and three of his co-accused were finally flushed out of the KOJC compound last Sunday. Cornered, Quiboloy and his co-accused emerged from their hideout and turned themselves over to police custody.

Days before the frenzied search of Quiboloy, VP Duterte apologized for not being able to come to the KOJC’s aid during their hour of need. “I could not come earlier dahil meron ding atake sa opisina ng Pangalawang Pangulo at hindi ko maiwanan ang aking mga kasama,” the VP explained.

She obviously referred to the recent battle with House lawmakers on the proposed 2025 budget at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on the perceived “attacks” of her known political foes in the 19th Congress. Appearing before the sub-committee on appropriations chaired by Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, VP Duterte traded bitter barbs to counter the questions raised on the notices of cash disallowance on the OVP’s previous year’s Congress-approved 2024 budget.

She also apologized again for seeking the support of the KOJC to vote for the UniTeam during the May 2022 presidential elections. She did not mention the name of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM), with whom she ran and won under the now defunct UniTeam.

Incidentally, VP Duterte reemerged in a pre-taped interview last week distributed by the OVP on Monday. She calmly denied that she is a “bratinela,” or a “spoiled brat.” Her staunch critics went to town calling her out in social media after a hostile encounter with House lawmakers who questioned the OVP’s proposed P2.037-billion budget for next year.

In that OVP in-house interview, VP Duterte asked the public not to “misconstrue” her demeanor at the House hearing where she frankly talked back at lawmakers. Citing she has nothing to hide, she explained: “It’s very important to me for the public to know about the OVP budget proposal. That’s why before we went to the Senate and the House, we published the budget proposal in our website, social media platforms and made it easy to understand for the public as to how the budget of the OVP will be spent.”

The OVP released yesterday part two of the in-house videotaped interview in which VP Duterte specifically pointed to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez as being behind the “attacks” on her at the House of Representatives. She accused the Speaker as the one who realigned the Congress-approved budget in 2024 of the Department of Education while she was then its concurrent secretary. This was, she revealed, why she resigned from the Cabinet two months ago.

So the no-show of VP Duterte, along with OVP officials, at the resumption of the OVP budget hearing at the House yesterday was her latest clapback to the Speaker.