Marcos Jnr’s Philippines rattled by Quiboloy crackdown, anti-corruption push

At the heart of one side of the tensions lies the ongoing stand-off surrounding the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City. For the fourth consecutive day, some 2,000 riot policemen maintained a blockade and search operation within the sprawling compound on Monday, in an effort to apprehend the influential KOJC founder, Apollo Quiboloy.

An initial police raid on the KOJC compound on Friday prompted Quiboloy’s followers to gather on the nearby highway, staging a “religious prayer rally” that completely blocked access to the Davao City International Airport. The church has also claimed that the police’s storming of the 30-hectare [74-acre] KOJC compound resulted in the deaths of two followers due to fatal heart attacks.

Duterte himself has harshly condemned the police raid, stating: “Our country has never been in a more tragic state as it is today. Rights have been trampled upon and our laws derided.”

“We sympathise with the members of the KOJC for having become victims of political harassment, persecution, violence and abuse of authority,” Duterte said. “This certainly puts a dark stain on the hands of those involved in today’s incident, led by no less than the top police official of the region.”

His daughter and the current vice-president, Sara Duterte-Carpio, added her voice to the criticism on Sunday, publicly asking KOJC members for forgiveness “for persuading and requesting you to vote for [Ferdinand] Bongbong Marcos Jnr in 2022. May you forgive me. You deserve better. Filipinos deserve better”.

She went on to “vehemently condemn the gross abuse of police power in the [complete] takeover of the KOJC compound”, which she said “led to the harassment of religious worshippers, the abuse of minors, and the