The media practitioners on Tuesday were denied access to enter the cathedral of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
KOJC legal counsel lawyer Israelito Torreon has accompanied the media in the hope of being given access to the cathedral and the Jose Maria College (JMC) building to check on the current operations of the police.
However, when they reached the entrance of the basement of the JMC building, Torreon and the media practitioners were prohibited from entering by the police who barricaded the area. It was also noticed that the police that are being deployed in the area were from PNP Region 3 based on their patches.
The next area was the entrance of the cathedral, still, they were not given access by the police operatives with patches from Region 4-A that barricaded the area. The group also attempted to enter the other entrance of the cathedral, but they were again denied access.
The cathedral was surrounded by the police.
“This proves that General Torre is not giving us access. If it is true, we have to prove it. I am proving it yet they are not providing us access. What they’re doing is that ang nilalagay nila ay yung mga patrolman, mga PO1 at PO2, kawawa naman pero ang mga opisyal wala dito. Klaro na hindi tayo binibigyan ng access and it is very clear that what they are doing there are illegal,” Torreon said.
The tour to the property was Torreon’s response to Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11) Director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III’s challenge for him to prove his allegations of digging activities conducted by the police in the JMC building.
Torreon shared a some photos online of the police digging a big hole at the JMC building.
However, in a press conference on Tuesday, Torre denied the digging allegations.
“About sa digging na yan allegation ni Atty. Torreon yan, nothing prove that. Wala akong sinasabi muna sa mga bagay na yan sapagkat yan ay allegation nila yan. Kung yan ang gusto nila, sige let them prove that also. Ilabas nila yung nagbigay ng photos, labas pasok ang mga tao diyan,” Torre said.
Torre was also firm of bringing KOJC founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy to justice.
“Pangako ko kung ako’y utusan uli, gagawin ko uli ito, hindi natin titigilan ito, hangga’t na siya ay sumuko. At wala siyang karapatan ng magdemand ng kung ano ano. Ba’t magdemand siya sa Presidente ng mga papeles na hinihingi niya, sino ba siya?” Torre said.
In his voice message released through his YouTube channel in April this year, Quiboloy asked for “written guarantees” from authorities as he laid down the conditions for his surrender that include “that the Americans will not interfere in his case in the Philippines and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the US embassy will not meddle.”
