On August 24, 2024, a standoff began at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Catitipan, Buhangin, Davao City, Philippines, as the Philippine National Police (PNP) attempted to serve an arrest warrant against Apollo Quiboloy, the founder and leader of the KOJC, on charges of sexual misconduct. Four other associates, namely Cresente Canada, Ingrid Canada, Sylvia Cemañes, and Jackielyn Roy, were also included in the arrest warrant on charges of child abuse. Quiboloy had hidden himself and other associates within the premises of the KOJC compound, where the KJC King Dome and Jose Maria College are located. Members of the KOJC gathered that same night to express solidarity with Quiboloy and protest the attempts to arrest him.
The standoff resulted in clashes, leading to several wounded on both sides. Within the first 24 hours of the raid, one KOJC member died from a heart attack. Former president Rodrigo Duterte and incumbent vice president Sara Duterte expressed negative sentiments toward the raid, with the latter attending a KOJC-organized event within the compound and separately suggesting that the PNP's "extraordinary" actions were political in nature. Police authorities, however, said that the PNP was simply serving an arrest warrant, with the large number of policemen serving to cover the vast area of the compound to search for Quiboloy. The Commission on Human Rights stated that it was, and had been, continuously monitoring the situation in the compound since the raid began.
Background
Apollo Quiboloy founded the Restorationist Christian denomination Kingdom of Jesus Christ on September 1, 1985, in Davao City, naming himself its Executive Pastor and claiming to be the "Appointed Son of God". Since then, the congregation has grown into a global religious organization, claiming as many as 6 million members and adherents worldwide.
On November 10, 2021, Quiboloy, along with other members of the KOJC, were indicted by a federal grand jury in California, United States, for alleged sexual misconduct involving minors, human trafficking, and fraud. A previous indictment in 2020 had covered other defendants, but had not included Quiboloy, who was added in the 2021 indictment along with five other new defendants who were not included in the prior indictment. The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation of the case and designated Quiboloy as a wanted suspect for sex abuse and human trafficking.
Events Prior events Actions by the judiciary and the police Quiboloy had been charged with alleged child and sexual abuse under Republic Act No. 7610—both previously dismissed by a Davao City court in 2020 but later refiled; and qualified human trafficking under RA No. 9208, as amended before the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC). On May 28, the Supreme Court granted the request of the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the transfer of cases against Quiboloy from Davao City to Quezon City. Cresente, Paulene, and Ingrid Canada, Jackielyn Roy, and Sylvia Cemañes had been charged as well.
On April 26, the Philippine National Police (PNP) confirmed the revocation of the firearms licenses of Quiboloy. Cresente Canada later surrendered at least 21 firearms to the PNP on May 27.
On August 8, the Court of Appeals, granting the petition filed by the Anti–Money Laundering Council, ordered the freezing of Quiboloy's assets, which included the bank accounts of himself, the KOJC, and the Swara Sug Media Corporation.
Arrest warrants against Quiboloy, et al. Arrest warrants against Quiboloy and five associates were issued by the Davao City RTC Branch 12 and by a Pasig court. The former was served in April at the KOJC compound in Davao City. All co-accused either were arrested or surrendered to authorities, but later released on bail.. in March, Quiboloy was ordered arrested by the Senate for his refusal to attend the hearings, and went into hiding thereafter.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte, Quiboloy's close ally and KOJC property administrator, advised him to "just get yourself arrested" or risk facing arrest. In April, Quiboloy, through an audio recording, stated he refused to be caught alive and alleged an assassination plot against him by the Philippine and United States governments.
June 10 raids and subsequent events On June 10, in a coordinated yet failed effort by the security forces for the arrests, five properties in Davao City, Island Garden City of Samal, and Malungon, Sarangani, were raided, causing the beginning of tensions between the PNP and the KOJC. In Davao, joint forces of the PNP – Special Action Force (PNP–SAF) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), consisting of around 100 police officers, stormed the KOJC compound in Buhangin District, facing members who protested against the operation. One KOJC member died from heart attack during the raid. The operation was condemned by former president Duterte.
On July 8, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos offered a reward for information leading to Quiboloy's arrest. A lower reward was given as well for the five co-accused. Three days later, Paulene Canada was arrested at her residence in Davao City. President Bongbong Marcos later challenged Quiboloy to appear and face his accusations.
A few days before the raid, Police Regional Office – Region XI (Davao Region) director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III told the Senate that authorities were allowed to pursue the search, as a Pasig court issued an alias warrant of arrest against Quiboloy. He later stated the police's willingness to serve arrest without any casualty if Quiboloy surrendered.
Police operation and standoff
At 4:00 a.m. of August 24, a composite police team, led by regional police chief Torre and composed of 2,000 personnel from Regions XI, XII and XIII, initiated another search in the KOJC compound in an attempt to arrest Quiboloy and four others. They reportedly entered the compound after negotiations with Israelito Torreon, Quiboloy's legal counsel. Torre said that based on information from their informants, the subject's movements inside the compound are well-planned, making the search difficult. He also said the police familiarized first with the property for future searches. The 30-hectare compound, situated near Francisco Bangoy International Airport, has a complex infrastructure that includes underground facilities along with 42 buildings.
The operation caused heightened tensions, with some members reportedly affected by tear gas. Several were hospitalized, apparently due to trauma; at least sixteen others, including four children, reportedly fainted. Edwin E. Cababat, A male church member who, according to PNP–Davao Region, had been manning a watchtower at the back of the compound for days without sleep, suffered cardiac arrest. He was shortly pronounced dead on arrival at the Southern Philippines Medical Center. Torreon said that the group searched the property at least thrice, and the KOJC's school, the Jose Maria College, seven times, but with no results.
Police later set up a roadblock outside the compound. According to Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who then visited the area, the police detected a "heartbeat" underground using a specialized detector. At night, upon Torre's order for further searches, another contingent of police officers entered the premises.
On the evening of August 25, KOJC members and Quiboloy's supporters gathered in front of the compound to protest the police search. They set up a barricade at the Carlos P. Garcia National Highway, blocking a portion of the road and hampered access to nearby airport; and burned tires in retaliation to the police's alleged use of tear gas against them. Before 3:00 p.m. the following day, the police gave them an ultimatum to disperse peacefully to open the road to motorists, but the group refused. This resulted in a violent confrontation, ending with the arrest of 18 KOJC members who were charged with obstruction of justice.
On August 27, the Davao RTC Branch 15 issued a temporary protection order to the KOJC, directing the PNP to cease actions that threatening the KOJC members' safety and security, and instructing the removal of all obstructions of access to and from the compound. Interior Secretary Abalos said that the police search would continue to serve the warrant in the premises. The following day, the court issued a clarificatory order, noting that the TPO validates the processes related to the warrants. In the afternoon of the same day, the DOJ issued a statement saying the police operations are legal. Exactly a week later, the Court of Appeals 22nd Division in Cagayan de Oro promulgated a resolution nullifying the TPO, stating that the Davao City court acted without authority on the petition for writ of amparo.
On August 27, PNP Public Information Office Chief and spokesperson PCol. Jean Fajardo admitted that due to the large size of the compound and the lack of a blueprint to guide the police, it is likely they had yet to cover half of the compound's total area. According to CNN, 2,000 police officers were still searching the compound.
On August 30, Vice President Sara Duterte visited the wake of KOJC member Edwin E. Cababat who died from a heart attack while manning a watchtower during the first day of the standoff.
On September 1, the KOJC organized an event at the compound commemorating its 39th anniversary, with Vice President Sara Duterte attending the event and expressing her support for the church while repeating her apology to them for her endorsement of Marcos in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.
On September 3, Torreon, along with members of the media, attempted to enter the JMC basement and the KOJC cathedral for inspection but were barred by the police. The KOJC legal counsel noted alleged digging activities in the basement and that the cathedral was designated as an advanced command post. On September 5, they reported the significant decrease of the regional police personnel, some having been pulled out from the compound a day prior to the Senate hearing and inspection of the property. Police were reportedly seen smuggling in cement and cleaning up the area, with damaged glass panes evident.
On September 8, Abalos announced in a brief Facebook post that Quiboloy was captured, thus ending the manhunt inside the KOJC property. Torreon stated Quiboloy voluntarily surrendered to spare his followers from violence, to which President Marcos acknowledged Quiboloy as displaying "a modicum of leadership". The police officers in the area were eventually pulled out. The PNP later said that Quiboloy, as well as his four aides, surrendered to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), four hours after being given a PNP-issued 24-hour ultimatum, as negotiations for their surrender had begun at 1:30 p.m. They were taken to Metro Manila and are currently detained at PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Later in an exclusive interview, Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib said he helped to facilitate negotiations for the surrender of Quiboloy, with dialogues between the camp of KOJC and the ISAFP having been conducted around seven times in Davao City since August 30.
President Marcos reported that Quiboloy requested the military presence during his arrest in the compound, adding that that the augmentation from the AFP is common. A source from ABS-CBN News said Quiboloy was seen inside the ACQ building, also known as the Bible School Building, as early as September 6, and hid until his surrender.