Metro Manila, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has urged fugitive and religious leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy on Monday to face the court to appease tensions between his supporters and police forces in Davao City.
In an interview with NewsWatch Plus, CHR Commissioner and Spokesperson Beda Epres asked Quiboloy to surrender if he believes the accusations against him are baseless.
“Iyong pag-effect nitong warrant of arrest is part of the judicial process. It’s just one of the few steps para makamit po natin ang hustisya,” he said.
[Translation: Serving the warrant of arrest is part of the judicial process. It’s just one of the few steps to seek justice]
Six policemen and two members of Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) were injured during a rally in Davao City.
Quiboloy supporters have been staging demonstrations over the weekend to protest the warrant of arrest against the wanted religious leader.
Epres said only courts can decide on the warrant’s validity.
Quiboloy is facing charges related to sexual and child abuses, as well as human trafficking, among others.
“Sana maging mahinahon ang lahat, sana po i-extend ng police iyong maximum tolerance in the process,” he added.
[Translation: I hope everyone stays calm. I hope the police will continue to enforce maximum tolerance in the process.]
CHR member, media harassed
Meanwhile, Epres also claimed that supporters of Quiboloy have verbally harassed one of their representatives while monitoring the situation on Aug. 24.
“Apparently ang nangyari pala is napagkamalan siya na isa siya sa mga complainants against the Pastor. So despite sa explanation ng sinasabi ng ibang members ng aming team na taga CHR iyong babae, iyong investigator namin, hindi nila pinakinggan…Kung ano-anong sinasabi, pagmumura,” he said.
[Translation: Apparently, what happened was that she was mistaken to be one of the complainants against the Pastor. So despite the explanation from other members of our team that the woman, our investigator, is from the CHR, they didn’t listen…Saying all sorts of things, cursing her.]
The commissioner said he also received reports of some members of the media getting harassed by the KOJC devotees.
“We’re trying to reach out sa members ng media na ‘to para makuha namin ang buong kwento kung ano iyong form ng sinasabi nilang harassments and threats na natanggap nila,” said Epres.
[Translation: We’re trying to reach out to members of the media to know the details of the story, and find out the kind of harassment and threats they experienced.]
