We beg for the indulgence of our readers. We missed this page in yesterday’s issue. We had some transactions in some offices in downtown Davao City. And there were some delays in the completion of our tasks resulting to our failure to come home in time to write our column and meet the deadline set by our editors. Thank you for understanding.
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The policemen’s saga (or you may call it drama) in the already almost a quarter of a year tracking the whereabouts of the Pastor-founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church Apollo C. Quiboloy, is now evolving into a major source of oftentimes disgusting jokes from nitizens.
Of course, it is expected because those who lay the ground for the jokes are themselves people who are supposed to make the situation a venue for serious deliberations. Say, why will not the ordinary man on the streets or the executives seated in gleaming corporate headquarters not create a levity of the Qujiboloy search when even the former President had cracked some jokes about it. Yes, when the former President said “He knows where Quiboloy is hiding”, but when asked where he could possibly be found he muttered in a laugh-generating single word statement, “JOKE.”
Then came Vice President Sara telling media people in an interview when asked where Quiboloy could now be she said rather in a joking manner that “He may already be in heaven.
Now, should we be surprised if nitizens will be posting on Facebook pictures of the Pastor hiding inside a manhole, or the Pastor seemingly wandering in the heavens where he met the souls of Filipino top comedian Dolphy and one other just to seek his intercession so they could be transferred to a better place other than hell.”
We also have pictures of policemen drilling the grounds of the KOJC compound. This time though the digger-policemen were not anymore after the pastor in-hiding but in search of gold. Some nitizens, possibly officials of the KOJC or the Church’s fanatic followers asking whether the police under Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III will also dig the basement of the SM Mall to look for Quiboloy or some stashed gold bars.
Our only hope though is for the cases against the Pastor and the service of his arrest warrants will not end up a big joke.
Meanwhile, we fully agree with the observation of top Davao City lawyer Cesar Europa that the plan of the Department of Justice to file a case against Davao Regional Trial Court Judge Hon. Mario Duavis has a “chilling effect” on the Philippine Judiciary. Duavis is the judge who issued a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) for the KOJC members inside the Church main compound as well as the facilities of the Headquarters, from the occupying policemen while they are searching for fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
Apparently DOJ Secretary Crispin Remulla did not take into consideration the succeeding issuance by Judge Duavis of a Supplemental and Clarificatory Order stating that the TPO did not nullify the Pastor’s arrest warrants. Instead it gave details as to what should be subject to the TPO from the police.
We could not help but believe that what the DOJ is planning to do clearly belies the claim of the administration that the Executive Department is not in any manner interfering with the Judiciary as far as the Quiboloy cases are concerned.
It is very clear that when the DOJ, an agency under the Executive Department will make good its plan to sue Duavis, then it is “invading” the domain of another independent branch of government. The most appropriate that Remulla can do is to question the act of Honorable Duavis in the Supreme Court instead of suing the person of the judge.
And the Executive Department insists that it is not interfering with the Judiciary in the Quiboly case?
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What is taking the contractor and the sub-contractors too much time to complete the expansion and/or rehabilitation of the Magtuod-New Carmen-New Valencia road leading to Calinan proper?
The project has been started even before the onset of the CoViD 19 pandemic, a good three years ago. After about three months of having passed the road going to downtown Davao City, we used the same route the other day. We noticed that the progress on the expansion work is very minimal. What is hampering the contractor/s job and why is their attention not called by the Department of Public Works and highways (DPWH)?
Is the agency not monitoring the project that it appears the workers seem to be left on their own? In fact we have noticed the other day that some segments of the expanded road the pavement is already starting to deteriorate.
And mind you, the budget for this expansion and rehabilitation project is in hundreds of millions of pesos in tax money.
Why is the DPWH apparently powerless in compelling the project contractor/s to hasten the work on this important relief road? Some “cash advances” may have already been released here.
