The legal team of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) will file a Motion for Reconsideration after the Court of Appeals (CA) 22nd Division in Cagayan de Oro City declared “null and void” the Temporary Protection Order (TPO) issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 in Davao City for KOJC on August 27, 2024.
Also in the resolution released on September 3, the CA concluded that the RTC Branch 15 had acted without authority in accepting the petition for a Writ of Amparo.
Lawyer Israelito Torreon, Legal Counsel of KOJC, said they are filing a Motion for Reconsideration on Thursday if only to emphasize the fact that the individual members of the KOJC and the officers and students of Jose Maria College (JMC) are not covered by the Supreme Court Order transferring the venue of the cases against Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.
“They are third persons – not affected by the SC order – who are entitled by law to seek immediate and inexpensive judicial relief in cases of violations of their constitutional right to life, liberty, property, and even security.
If we follow the line of argument of the Solicitor General, they are in effect saying that the family of the victim who died, the numerous persons who got injured, the members who cannot anymore have access to the KOJC cathedral, the students who cannot anymore go to school because of overwhelming and excessive utilization of force and now the continuous tunneling and drilling activities in the JMC basement and the countless individuals who suffered – and will suffer – because of the siege being continually done by the PNP against the KOJC/JMC premises should still go to Quezon City or Pasig City just to obtain judicial relief? That is contrary to the purpose and intent of the Writ of Amparo,” Torreon said.
Torreon added that the Writ of Amparo requires that the court that has jurisdiction to entertain the petition should be the court of the place where the act of omission happened, hence, since the wanton violations being committed by the police are done in Davao City then it is the RTC Davao which should have jurisdiction over the petition for issuance of Writ of Amparo.
“Likewise, the Writ of Amparo prohibits the filing of Certiorari to question the court’s interlocutory orders and the petition filed by the PNP is a perfect example of a violation of such rule, hence, we need to point that out, among other grounds, in our motion for reconsideration in the hope that the Court of Appeals will reconsider,” Torreon said.
This developed after the Philippine National Police (PNP) led by Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11) Director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III, raided the KOJC compound to implement the warrant of arrest against Quiboloy and four co-accused on August 24, 2024.
