Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy (File photo)
MANILA – The camp of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy has surrendered five of the 19 firearms registered under his name, after the Philippine National Police (PNP) revoked its permits due to the cases filed against him.
In a media interview in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Wednesday, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said the five firearms were surrendered at the regional office of the Civil Security Group (CSG) at the Police Regional Office 11 (Davao Region) in Davao City on Wednesday morning.
“We implemented the notice of surrender this morning, and they surrendered them,” he said on the sidelines of his visit to the wake of slain Maguindanao del Norte police officer Capt. Rolando Moralde.
He said he believes Quiboloy’s camp would surrender the remaining 14 firearms soon.
On April 26, Marbil approved the recommendation of the Firearms and Explosives Office board to revoke all the firearms registered under Quiboloy.
In the same resolution approved by Marbil, Quiboloy was given six months to surrender all the guns.
The revocation of Quiboloy’s gun permits stemmed from the charges of human trafficking and child and sexual abuse filed against him. He has standing arrest warrants issued by courts in Davao City and Pasig City.
According to Section 4 (g) of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, among the requisites for the issuance of and obtaining a license to own and possess firearms is that “the applicant has not been convicted or is currently an accused in a pending criminal case before any court of law for a crime that is punishable with a penalty of more than two years.”
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, meanwhile, expressed hope that Quiboloy would also soon submit himself to authorities and face the charges against him.
"Sana itong gesture na ito na pakikiisa sa batas ay sana tuloy-tuloy na so I would like to commend the PNP chief at ang mga tao namin on the ground sa paggawa nito (I hope this gesture of compliance of the law would continue. I would like to commend the PNP chief and our personnel on the ground for this move)," Abalos said.
Quiboloy was also indicted in the United States in November 2021 for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, and sex trafficking of children. He is currently on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's wanted list.
Meanwhile, Quiboloy's legal counsel Israelito Torreon said his client has already submitted documents to prove that the 14 other firearms previously listed in his name "were already validly disposed of or duly transferred in other persons' names."
In a statement, Torreon said while they have appealed Marbil's order, Quiboloy complied with the directive to "dispel the vicious rumors being circulated by certain biased sources that he is armed and dangerous or that he has a private army." (PNA)
