Scenes from the 39th founding anniversary of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Davao City on September 1, 2024. Handout/KOJC

DAVAO CITY -- Vice President Sara Duterte joined members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in celebrating its 39th founding anniversary on Sunday, September 1 in Davao City.

In a video shared to the media by KOJC, Duterte was seen in the crowd shaking hands and taking selfies with KOJC members.

Before attending the KOJC anniversary, Duterte graced the eight anniversary of the Roxas Night Market bombing.

In an ambush interview, Duterte said she believes that the fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy has left Davao City already.

READ: VP Duterte believes Quiboloy no longer in Davao

"Ako sir, personally, wala na si Pastor Quiboloy dito sa Davao City dahil mahaba yung panahon na pwede siyang umalis na sa Davao City dahil mahaba din yung grandstanding na nangyari doon sa Senate committee hearing. So napakataas ng time na pwede niyang pag-isipan kung aalis na ako o hindi. Isa din yun sa dapat pag-isipan ng administrasyon," Duterte said.

Also on Sunday, one of the lawyers of KOJC questioned the authorities entering its compound without identifying themselves.

Atty. Gretchen Cañedo confronted one of the police officers on the ground and asked him to police its ranks and make sure that all policemen entering the KOJC compound have proper uniforms with name plates and identification.

"I  hope you understand, wala pong kalaban-laban yung mga tao. Kaya naman po nagkakaganito kasi bigla-bigla po kayong pumapasok," Cañedo told the police.

"Akala ng mga pulis dito, hinaharangan, may mga pulis na walang identification, they also have to understand na iba-ibang tao yung nagbabantay ng gate. So hindi rin makikilala yan lahat. Kasi kahit naman kayo, magpapapasok ba kayo ng hindi n'yo kakilala diba? There is no resistance on the part of the members of the KOJC," Cañedo explained.

On Saturday, KOJC's chief legal counsel Israelito Torreon asked the PNP to let them use its cathedral for its anniversary.

"It is really primordial that the religious rights of my clients should be respected, there is no dangerous tendency that the exercise would lead to breakdown of public order and therefore there is no neeD for the police to interfere, there is no likewise clear and present danger that the exercise of their religious rights would actually disturb the peace of society," Torreon said.

But KOJC did not receive a positive response from the authorities so it decided to just use the ground outside of its "Kingdom" near gate 18 of its compound.

READ: Search reaches 7th day, still no sign of Quiboloy

READ: PNP posts wanted posters of Apollo Quiboloy in KOJC compound

METAL DETECTOR AND DRILLING EQUIPMENT?

"We were able to confirm that equipment which are metal detectors are already inside as well as ground drilling machines. Second, you can actually hear the drilling operations being conducted, many times already. And the fact that they would not allow us to enter, raises strong suspicion that there is in fact drilling operations," according to Torreon.

Torreon suspects that aside from searching for Quiboloy, the authorities are hunting for treasures.

But the Police Regional Office XI dismissed this claim and said it is just implementing a valid warrant of arrest against the religious leader.

"We are not treasure hunting. We are looking for individuals with existing warrants of arrest. The police officers used human intelligence and the aid of technical equipment...because of this information, we believe that Pastor Quiboloy is still inside the KOJC," P/BGen. Roderick Alba told the media.

NO CONFIRMATION OF HEARTBEATS

In an ambush interview on Sunday, Torreon said even the PNP never confirmed the specifics of the alleged heartbeats.

According to Torreon, there is a former dissident member of KOJC who is posting "fake news" on social media.

"She was even able to identify from whose heartbeats were these, that's very amazing because even the PNP did not claim that. I do hope that the public do not believe that because as of the present there is no confirmation by the police that there was in fact a heartbeat," Torreon said.

Meanwhile, the KOJC also appealed to the Bureau of Immigration to let its members come in to attend the KOJC anniversary.

READ: BI blacklists, bans 3 Malaysians claiming to be KOJC members

"Please allow them to enter because they would like to exercise their religious freedom. They have religious rights under the 1987 constitution. I have no confirmation if they are Malaysian citizens, even if they are Malaysian citizens please allow them because even the United Nations Convention allows people whatever race or nationality they are allowed to exercise their faith," Torreon said.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) barred from entering the country three Malaysian nationals who claimed to be members of the KOJC. 

In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the three passengers were boarded back to a flight to Malaysia last August 28.

The BI said the trio arrived at the NAIA Terminal 1, night of August 27 via a Philippine Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

According to Tansingco, the Malaysians were denied entry for being likely to become a public charge, after they were flagged for seemingly suspicious intent in the country.

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