The City Council of Davao passed a resolution on Tuesday urging the Philippine National Police (PNP) to uphold the rule of law and respect the constitution concerning their ongoing operation at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) property in Davao City.
On its 10th day since the PNP, led by Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11) Director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III, assaulted the KOJC compound on August 24, 2024, photos of police building a tunnel in the basement of the Jose Maria College (JMC) building circulated online.
Authored by Councilor Luna Marie Dominique Acosta, chair of the Committee on Peace and Public Safety, she cited the Constitution which provides that “the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed”; and Republic Act (R.A.) No 6975, otherwise known as the “Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990”, empowers the PNP to “(a) Enforce all laws and ordinances relative to the protection of lives and properties; (b) Maintain peace and order and take all necessary steps to ensure public safety; (d) Exercise the general powers to make arrest, search and seizure in accordance with the Constitution and pertinent laws.”
“With the current actions of the PNP in their operations to serve the warrant of arrest at the KOJC, I cannot help but ask if the law has indeed been followed. I respect and acknowledge the power of the court to issue warrants of arrest, and the authority of the police to enforce the same. However, when the enforcement of the warrant is accompanied by the use of excessive force, the seizure of private property, and the disregard for the rights of others, we must ask ourselves, is this still what the law provides?” she said in her privilege speech during the session.
Acosta said the service of the warrant of arrest affects not only the members of the KOJC because for the first few days of the siege, great inconvenience was experienced by many Dabawenyos who were late for their flights due to the traffic conditions near the Davao International Airport (DIA).
“Many of those coming to and from their homes to school or work were also affected by the road closure. More than these inconveniences, and what we should all look into, is the effect these actions have on the rule of law and our rights under the Constitution,” she said.
Acosta reminded that the KOJC compound is a school that caters to students from preschool to law school and cited Department of Education Order No. 44 series of 2005 which states that “schools are and should remain to be zones of peace.”
“This means that classes should not be disrupted and armed personnel should not be allowed to remain therein. Despite what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stated, there are indeed armed police personnel in the JMC compound. He may not be aware of this, but to us average Filipinos several photos and video evidence can readily be shown through our social media accounts and his words cannot erase that fact. Since the siege began, and to this day the JMC has not been able to open its doors to its students due to continued police presence in the buildings themselves. When can this continue? Surely there is another way to serve a warrant of arrest without disrupting school operations,” she said.
She also mentioned that when KOJC marked its 39th anniversary, instead of worshiping in their cathedral, they were forced to conduct their anniversary celebration in the open grounds.
“Why? Because their cathedral is being used as the command post for the ongoing police operations. While the Philippine National Police may not necessarily believe in the teachings of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the least that could be done is to respect their right to believe and worship in their own way. How would we feel if we were not allowed to enter a place, we considered sacred to our beliefs? How would we feel if our cathedrals, churches, mosques, or places of worship were taken over and made into a command post for the very operations that are oppressing us?” she said.
Acosta recalled during Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11) Director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III’s courtesy call to the City Council on July 23, 2024, he assured us that he would maintain coordination with the city government of Davao and even emphasized that part of his duties as the Regional Director (RD) of PRO 11 is to align with the local government and foster good relations.
“This did not happen. We were all caught off guard and left to deal with the consequences of their actions. Instead of working together for the peace of our city, their actions have caused great harm to our peace and have shaken our trust in the very people we rely on for our safety and security,” she said.
Acosta reminded that no one is above the law not even the President who orders it.
“The duty of our police force is to preserve, maintain and implement laws. While the ongoing operations inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ are justified as pursuant to the lawful order of the court to enforce a search warrant, other laws should not be disregarded. Neither should we be led by the orders of an authority who does not even seem to know what the true situation on the ground is,” she said.
Meanwhile, the City Council also passed a resolution urging the Land Transportation Office 11 (LTO 11) and the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) to make sure that traffic laws are being followed along C.P Garcia Highway near the Davao International Airport and the KOJC in order to maintain smooth traffic flow and remove all obstructions along the highway.
The resolution was proposed by Councilor Tek Ocampo.
