Philippines manhunt uncovers preacher's secret tunnels, rooms for victims

The police believe Quiboloy, the 74-year-old self-proclaimed “appointed son of God”, is hiding in a bunker along with four of his co-accused associates somewhere underneath the sprawling 30ha compound of his church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), in the southern Philippine city of Davao.

Quiboloy is the spiritual adviser of former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose family counts Davao as its political stronghold.

The manhunt entered its 14th day on Sept 6, as KOJC followers continued to clash with the police in a bid to stop the authorities from enforcing a court-issued arrest warrant against the pastor and his accomplices. Thousands of police officers have been deployed in the massive operation aiming to bring the fugitive pastor to jail.

Though Quiboloy is yet to be found, the PNP has uncovered an intricate labyrinth of secret tunnels and underground rooms at the KOJC property.

That includes the discovery of several facilities believed to have been used to detain women forced to do sexual favours for the doomsday preacher.

“We will not stop until Quiboloy is arrested. We are not going to turn our backs against the helpless and voiceless victims of  Quiboloy,” said the Davao Region police chief, Brigadier-General Nicolas Torre III, on Sept 6 before a Philippine Senate committee hearing looking into the conduct of the manhunt for Quiboloy.

The probe is being led by Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who served as PNP chief under Duterte. He and senators Robin Padilla and Bong Go, also Duterte allies, flew to Davao City to conduct the hearing there.

Brig-Gen Torre said they found that Quiboloy had a bedroom in the basement in each of the three buildings in the compound. Each of these rooms was surrounded by other bedrooms that police say were occupied by females whom Quiboloy allegedly had sex with.

“What I’m saying, sir, is that the evidence that we saw supports the arrest warrant (issued against Quiboloy) because he was having sex with a child,” Brig-Gen Torre said, addressing Senator dela Rosa. The age of sexual consent in the Philippines is 16.

But Dela Rosa said Brig-Gen Torre was being malicious when there was no other concrete evidence found in the KOJC compound to back his claims.

Before the Sept 6 Senate hearing, Brig-Gen Torre had already told reporters in early August that there was a network of tunnels in the KOJC compound, including one leading to a private hangar of Quiboloy, where his jet was known to be kept in the past.

The hangar has a taxiway directly linking to Davao’s international airport, located just beside the KOJC property. The police are closely guarding this area to ensure no one escapes.

The PNP also found another three-level facility underneath a mansion in the KOJC compound that allegedly housed Quiboloy’s sexual victims, reported local newspaper The Daily Tribune.

The complex was allegedly divided to sort women based on their attractiveness.

Local paper Daily Tribune posted videos online on Aug 28 showing one floor that had dark rooms with rows of bunk beds, bare concrete walls and dirty floors. The other parts of the facility had better living conditions, complete with modern furniture and bright lighting systems. Some clothes and items believed to be used by women were left behind.

At the Senate hearing in Davao, KOJC lawyer Israelito Torreon said the report was false and criticised the police for abusing its power in its operations against Quiboloy.

“What appears to be an arrest operation has already turned into a siege,” Mr Torreon told senators in the same hearing. “It is our firm belief that the pursuit of justice must never come at the expense of fairness and due process.”

Quiboloy was previously a member of the United Pentecostal Church before founding the KOJC in 1985. While the KOJC espouses some mainstream Christian tenets, critics view it as a cult led by its charismatic leader, who claims his birth involved God coming to his mother upon a cloud and declaring him as his son.

According to the Philippine media, the KOJC claims to have four million followers in the country and another two million members overseas.

The church has a chapter in Singapore, although its exact numbers in the Republic are unknown; however, its Singapore chapter’s Facebook page has more than 9,000 online followers as of Sept 6.

Quiboloy is currently facing arrest warrants both at home and in the United States on multiple charges of child abuse, sexual trafficking, conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling.

The KOJC founder is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list of fugitives after he and his accomplices were indicted in the US for trafficking girls and women aged 12 to 25 to serve as his assistants or “pastorals”. They were allegedly required to have sex with him in what the victims described as “night duty”.

The Philippine and US authorities also accuse Quiboloy of running a labour trafficking scheme that took KOJC members overseas, including to the US, Canada and Singapore. The fund-raising scheme supposedly funded the church’s operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders.

Stand-off as a proxy war?

The PNP and Quiboloy’s loyalists have been embroiled in a heated stand-off for two weeks now.

About 3,000 police officers raided the KOJC property on Aug 24 to serve Quiboloy’s arrest warrant. One church member died of a heart attack during the raid.

Tensions have only escalated since then. The police used tear gas to disperse KOJC members who earlier blocked a highway with burning tyres. Quiboloy’s loyalists have also repeatedly tried to stop the authorities from entering the compound.

On Aug 29, about 60 police officers were injured after a violent clash with KOJC members blocking one of the property’s gates. The church leaders accused the police of abuse of power, prompting Mr dela Rosa, an ally of former president Duterte, to fly to Davao City and hold a hearing there on Sept 6.  

Analysts said the clash between the police and the KOJC is a “proxy war” between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and the Dutertes.

Marcos once had a vaunted alliance with Vice-President Sara Duterte, daughter of his predecessor. But that political marriage has broken up, with Ms Duterte’s resignation from Marcos’ Cabinet in June dealing the fatal blow to what was once called the “UniTeam” tandem.

It is no wonder then that the Marcos government is now clamping down on Quiboloy, said ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute fellow Aries Arugay.

“This is a proxy war, a battle between the two dynasties. It’s like they are using the case of Quiboloy to test which faction has more influence and which one would blink first,” he told The Straits Times.

Quiboloy is also a prime target for Marcos as the preacher is likely aware of the financial interests of the Duterte family, said political analyst Robin Garcia of Manila-based public affairs firm WR Advisory Group.

“Quiboloy is a keeper of a lot of secrets of the Dutertes. He is a central pillar in the fight,” he added.

Both analysts say Marcos is now facing pressure to ensure that Quiboloy will be arrested and to do so without violating any rules. Otherwise, the Dutertes could use that against him.

Dr Arugay said: “Marcos needs to control the collateral damage of whatever the outcome is going to be. If Quiboloy gets arrested, they (Dutertes) will double down on the persecution narrative. But if he evades arrest, the Marcos administration will look weak.”

Mara Cepeda

The Straits Times

Asia News Network