Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil bared Monday the conversations they had with Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy, which made him surrender.
Quiboloy and his co-accused were presented briefly before a press conference at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City. He was wearing an orange detainee t-shirt and a black cap with his face covered by sunglasses, and a face mask.
Abalos acknowledged the efforts of the entire police force, led by PNP-Davao regional director Brigadier General Torre III, who patiently pursued the operation based on intelligence reports despite strong resistance from the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) community among other challenges.
According to them, Quiboloy asked for three things for him to surrender: first is for him to not encounter Torre, second is to let them immediately board a government plane, and third is the assurance that no children would be harmed throughout the process.
Torre mentioned that they extended the deadline to avoid chaos and ensure no one was harmed.
Marbil said, however, that they were misled into a “game of deception.” He explained that whenever they approached the building where Quiboloy was, his camp would call and say they would surrender, but it never happened.
The PNP chief further stated that he ordered Torre to pressure Quiboloy’s camp and set a deadline for him to emerge. Police officers ensured that the KOJC compound was “locked in” and their leader had nowhere else to go, which led to his surrender.
“He (Quiboloy) was really pinned down. He had nothing to—had nowhere else to go with so many members we had… I told Nic (Torre) to make sure no one gets hurt, especially an innocent child, because that would be a different story,” Marbil said.
“It was a game of deception. It took us about 16 days but, at the end of the day… We were under tremendous pressure. It was a make or break (moment for our organization). But we are so sure. Before we entered that, we were 80 percent sure that he was there,” the PNP chief added.
Abalos said that during the continuation of the police operation at the KOJC compound in Davao City on Friday, some witnesses gave information on the location of Quiboloy.
“That’s the final assault because his location is pinpointed. All of these pictures will prove that all the while the intelligence report is correct, the operation is correct,” the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief noted.
“No matter what kind of restraint was done to us by some camp, the police endured it, no matter what threats were made, we continued. And the rest is history,” Abalos said.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo earlier confirmed that Quiboloy was given 24 hours to surrender on Sunday, September 8. She said it was a concerted effort between the members of the PNP Intelligence Group and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP).
Quiboloy and his followers—Jackielyn Roy, Ingrid Canada, Cresente Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes—are currently under PNP custody. President Marcos said they will be facing trial under the Philippine judicial system.
