There were two big issues of contention during the 16-day saga of the police at the main headquarters of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) Church just to search the then fugitive Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy. One was whether or not the religious leader was really holed inside the compound. The other was whether there was an “overkill” in the serving of the warrants considering the number of policemen deployed. However, with Quiboloy now in custody by the authorities, all those could already be “:water under the bridge.”
But now that the Pastor is already in the custody of the authorities other issues are now having the public’s pre-occupation. And these are whether or not the Pastor was arrested, or whether he surrendered himself to the authorities (not the Police but to an Army general) and whether he came from somewhere in Cotabato together with his co-accused, or did they simply come out of their hiding place inside the KOJC compound.
Yes, comments coming from nitizens and those apparently sympathetic to the Pastor are flooding the social media. Those who believe that no one should be above the law are blunt in saying that whether the Pastor was arrested or had given up voluntarily does not anymore matter. What is important is that he is now under the jurisdiction of the court where he should pursue his claim of justice that he assumes denied of him.
But there are also a good number of people including politicians big and small, who are insisting that the police failed to arrest the Pastor, and that he and his associates were not inside the compound of the KOJC but travelled from Cotabato to Davao City just to surrender.
Okay, we can always accord these sectors of the public the “benefit of doubt.” Meaning they have reasons to advance such theory. But why did the Pastor and his co-accused risk getting caught in two major checkpoints on their way to Davao City? If he and his companions were really in Cotabato he could have asked the army general who he was reported to have given up himself to “fetch” him at his sanctum.
On another vein the supposed surrender of the Pastor happened after the police under the Police Regional Office (PRO) XI gave the then fugitive a definite number of hours ultimatum to come out or the law enforcers will enter the place the wanted persons were holed up inside the compound of the KOJC.
Earlier, in a public hearing of two committees with only three Senatiors attending, General Torre was arrogantly asked by Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa whether the police regional chief was definite that Quiboloy was hiding inside some secret quarters of the KOJC compound. Torre’s answer was a resounding “YES>”
Meaning the Police commander was not just positive but very certain the Pastor was inside the compound.
Now General Torre could claim he was right. But of course for those who believe the Pastor and his companions really motored from somewhere in Cotabato before surrendering to the Army general, Torre was wrong.
Again there are those who strongly argue that there is a hell of difference between a Quiboloy arrest and a Quiboloy surrender. What is clear though is that the consequence of both is just exactly the objective of the Police “overkill” operation at the KOJC main headquarters compound. That is, to have the wanted Pastor brought to the jurisdiction of the courts.
There are also those who mock Brig. Gen. Torre for his apparent “innocence” that his quarry the Pastor, has already surrendered. They were short of saying that Torre was taken for a ride by some other law enforcement units.
Our take on the matter however, is simple. Those who would rather term the Quiboloy’s being now in custody by the authorities is because he “surrendered” are actually trying to cushion the unwanted impact of the incident both to the Pastor and his Church who he and his close associates claim to have eight million followers.
And had he insisted on hiding and eventually getting apprehended, the Pastor would have suffered the ignominy, the humiliation of being an outlaw cornered in his hideout. He can also immediately expect the negative impact of his arrest on the sustenance of his Church especially in its financial generation capacity.
Above all, the respect accorded him by a number of people in the community and even abroad, and the “fear” of politicians of his influence – could end up ebbing much sooner than anyone can imagine.
Meanwhile, without foreclosing the possibility that indeed reports of the Pastor together with his co-accused, was fetched by an Army official in his supposed Cotabato hiding place is true, what is the Army up to? Did the Army do it without coordinating with the police officials serving the warrants at the Church headquarters? Who did the liaison and from whose authority was the covert job undertaken?
If indeed this happened, then it is not remote there might be some forces out to create a wedge between the government’s two armed services.
We hope we are wrong with our intuition.
