The legal team of Apollo Quiboloy, the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), announced on Wednesday that they planned to submit an application requesting the Supreme Court to reexamine the decision to move Quiboloy’s criminal charges from Davao City to Quezon City.
We shall make every effort to submit a courteous move for reconsideration to the Supreme Court, Attorney. One of Quiboloy’s attorneys, Israelito Torreon, stated in a message to the media.
This came about after the High Court approved the motion to transfer Quiboloy’s two criminal cases to a Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The court stated that there were strong grounds for the transfer because the cases included the accused, who is well-known in the community, and they involved matters of public interest.
According to the SC, Quiboloy’s influence may result in prejudices in the community and may intimidate witnesses into not testifying freely out of fear.
Quiboloy is being prosecuted under Section 10(a) and Section 5(b) of Republic Act 7610, also known as the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
Torreon, for their part, expressed surprise at the decision and said that there might have been a breach of due process because they were unaware of the situation.\
It was determined solely based on baseless and unsupported allegations of prejudice in Davao City courts, which, upon closer inspection, would amount to a slight against the city’s local courts and be seen as an assault on the judiciary as a whole, the speaker stated.
Because of geographical issues, such accusations tend to erode public trust in our legal system, he continued.
Torreon added that the six accused will have a heavyweight as a result of the transfer.
He said that the financial implications, challenges, and inconveniences that the Accused, their families, supporters, followers, and, most importantly, witnesses, will face as a result of the venue shift may not have been disclosed to the Honorable Supreme Court.
However, the attorney stated that if the SC upholds its decision, it will comply.
A Pasig court is also considering a non-bailable Qualified Human Trafficking allegation against Quiboloy based on Section 4(a) of Republic Act No. 9208, as amended.
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