In a pre-recorded statement Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy denies he is in hiding because he is guilty. He added that he only wants to get the assurance of the President and the Justice Secretary that they will not allow the United States government to have anything to do with his cases in the Philippines.
Quiboloy alleges that the US through its agents is out to assassinate him and that he has the suspicion that the Philippine authorities are willing to hand him over to the US upon his surrender. The religious leader is facing charges of human trafficking in the US and some other cases filed by some of his disgruntled former members now residing in that American country.
Quiboloy also wants to have the Senate investigation led by opposition senator Risa Hontiveros, on his alleged criminal acts stopped.
On the first claim of the church leader we are not totally sold. That is, that the Pastor himself could not offer strong evidence of a conspiracy between the US and the Philippine government on the assassination plot.
However, on his second demand that the Senate stop its probe on his alleged crimes we back him on that. There are already formal cases filed in the court of law against the Pastor. We believe that continuing the Senate probe could put him in double jeopardy, or that there is the strong likelihood that Quiboloy may be able to make statements in the Senate investigation that could be self-incriminating.
So, it is our take that it is only proper that the court will be given the sole responsibility in the determination whether or not the Pastor is guilty of the crimes charged against him.
Imagine how the honorable lady senator could have missed realizing that there is independence among the three branches of government – the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. And if the Senate would insist on proceeding with its probe even as the Judiciary is also having its own in the cases against Quiboloy, would that not be messing the process instead, and violating the separation of powers among the three government branches?
Of course the Senate can always invoke its common excuse in conducting probes – “in aid of legislation.” But in the case of the probe on Quiboloy and on the way the lawmakers comport themselves during the conduct of the hearing they are not just inquisitorial but prosecutorial as well.
And the probing Senate body on the whole is also acting like it is also the judge at the same time. Even at the start of the hearing its treatment of the person subject to the probe is as if he/she is already guilty.
So, how can the probe body make the subject agree that its investigation is purely “in aid of legislation” when it is normally conducted in the ambiance of grandstanding? So, probes, while it may help craft relevant legislations, the latter is merely secondary to “in aid of re-election.”
Fairness of the probe to the one investigated? Well, tell it to the Marines. Some of them might lend their ears.
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The urbanization of Davao City is now fast expanding to the once rural and sleepy communities. Hectares upon hectares of what used to be coconut or rubber plantations in the outskirts of the city are now slowly but surely giving way to residential subdivisions developed by known property developers operating all over the country.
We are afraid that if regulations on this kind of improvement of rural areas cum development aggression remain antiquated or pliant to the wishes of the developers, it is not far that the city’s remaining environment friendly areas will be replaced with toxic communities that sooner or later will become less ideal for human habitation.
We believe now is the time for the city’s policy makers to review the local governments regulations on locations of supposed development projects.
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