- Lawyer, media barred from checking excavation activities
POLICE blocked the legal counsel for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) and journalists from gaining access to the basements of Jose Maria College (JMC) and KOJC Cathedral to check the holes, now reported to be eight meters deep.
Around 3 p.m., Torreon and the media attempted to enter the JMC basement through the first entrance but were blocked by the Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) team of the PNP. They made additional attempts at two other entrances but were similarly blocked.
Torreon then led the media to the Cathedral’s main entrance and back entrance, but the police had cordoned off these areas, as well.
“The JMC is under their control, and they are even turning it into a boarding house. You have seen clothes hanging in the upper part of the JMC basement. It is our school, yet they are conducting an underground tunnel there. This is already the eleventh day, and they haven’t found what they are looking for,” Torreon told the media on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 3.
Torreon also expressed frustration about being blocked by armed policemen, saying, “You have seen that the policemen have firearms and have blocked me. I’m a lawyer, and we can debate this in court. The last time I checked, there is no martial law here, yet people inside are armed. Whatever news you receive from the PNP, please verify it with us.”
Nonetheless, Torreon insisted the police did not find any tunnels underneath.
Torreon requested the police to allow access to the Cathedral for just one day, but the police continued to maintain barricades. He claimed the KOJC Cathedral had been turned into an advanced command post by the police.
“We need total transparency from the police as they are free to accuse us of anything,” Torreon said.
In an earlier press conference, Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, director of Police Regional Office XI, did not comment on whether the PNP was conducting digging activities at JMC or the Cathedral.
However, Torre said the photos sent to Torreon might be edited.
“If those photos are indeed edited, we would be happy to accompany media personnel to verify the truth. If it’s not true, we will be genuinely relieved,” Torreon said in a press conference.
Torreon argued that the PNP should provide evidence of the alleged digging activities and respond to his requests for access.
He noted that under the law, a search warrant is required for such activities, which the police currently lack. He also highlighted that an arrest warrant alone does not justify a comprehensive search.
The PNP has not clarified whether there is any excavation in the JMC basement. When asked about the photos showing possible excavation, Brig. Gen. Torre III stated, “That is the allegation of Atty. Torreon.”
“Let Atty. Torreon prove it,” he added.
“Ilabas nila yung nagbigay ng photo alam nila Yung batas, ilabas nila yung taong nagbigay nyan bigyan ng sworn statement, Kasi kaya kung gawin yan sa loob ng Photoshop,” he added.
Torreon concluded that the rule of law should be followed, and arrest warrants should not be used as a pretext for random or omnibus searches of property owned by another entity.
In his statement, Torreon said “I thought the police was so sure of the location of Pastor ACQ that they even dug a tunnel in the JMC Basement. The PNP Spokesman even used Rule 113 Section 11 as justification for their continued stay even if 10 days have already elapsed since they began their illegal search in the KOJC Compound. But what baffles me is that after 10 days, still no result?”
“The hole in the JMC Basement has become dangerously big threatening the stability of the buildings yet they have not seen any tunnel yet? Which brings me to the legal question as to whether the “reasonable belief” of the presence of Pastor ACQ justifies the tunneling and thereby the possible destruction of the JMC Building. I thought reasonable belief meant that they have A-1 knowledge that he is present there and there is no need for an intrusive search,” Torreon said.
“But the fact that they have to dig a big tunnel without even finding an existing tunnel after eleven days simply means that their belief therefore of pastor’s presence therein is unreasonable, if not, downright speculative. Then if that is the case If they were too sure of the tunnel, why can’t they locate its entrance?” he questioned.
“All law students know that any search that is conducted on a person’s property is only possible if the court issued a valid search warrant. The only incident that allows a warrantless search during an arrest is when it constitutes a search incidental to a lawful arrest. But in this case, after 11 days, there is no arrest yet you have conducted a very intrusive search of properties not even registered in the name of the Accused,” he added.
Lastly, he cited People versus Nuevas, which states that ”in a search incidental to a lawful arrest, the law requires that there must be a lawful arrest before a search can be made; the Process cannot be reversed.”
Photo: Bing Gonzales
