CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte boosted the morale of followers of fugitive doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy as she joined them at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) to celebrate the group’s 39th founding anniversary on Sunday, September 1.
Police watched from a distance as thousands of Quiboloy’s followers gathered outside the KOJC’s colossal King Dome, a still-unfinished arena that is part of the religious group’s 30-hectare property.
The compound has been the focus of an intensive police search for days, with authorities believing that Quiboloy and four other fugitives — siblings Ingrid and Cresente Canada, Jackielyn Roy, and Sylvia Cemañes — are hiding in an alleged underground hideout there.
The Vice President was welcomed with loud applause by Quiboloy’s followers, who repeatedly chanted “Duterte! Duterte!” as she went around to greet KOJC members.
She joined them in prayer and worship.
Duterte has expressed her disapproval of the police operations at the KOJC compound, which entered their ninth day on Sunday.
She told reporters earlier that the police was slow in the implementation of the arrest warrants against Quiboloy, and she suspected that the preacher had left Davao City long before the police stormed the KOJC compound on August 24.
In an August 25 statement, she sharply criticized the police operations at the KOJC, alleging rights violations and blaming President Marcos Jr. for it.
She also expressed regret and apologized to KOJC for campaigning for Marcos in the 2022 presidential elections. Duterte won the vice-presidential race as Marcos’ running mate.
Duterte said she suspected the police operations at KOJC had political undertones and that Quiboloy, a staunch supporter of her family, was caught in the political crossfire.
Quiboloy is wanted on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, child abuse, and trafficking.
Duterte repeated her apology during the KOJC anniversary on Sunday.
“Hinihingi ko ang patawad ninyo. Nagkamali ako sa paghingi ng suporta niyo para kay Bongbong Marcos… Nagkamali ako kaya hinihingi ko ang patawad ninyo,” Duterte was quoted by Davao-based broadcaster DXDC-RMN as saying.
(I ask for your forgiveness. I made a mistake in asking for your support for Bongbong Marcos… I made a mistake, so I ask for your forgiveness.)
The political rift between Marcos and Duterte became evident when the Vice President announced her resignation as Education Secretary in June, vacating the Cabinet post in July. – Rappler.com