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Quiboloy lawyers: No private army, just 'prayer warriors'

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Michael Delizo

Johnson Manabat

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17266421820011722837575257Apollo-Quiboloy.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) honorary chairperson Apollo Quiboloy expresses his gratitude during the Memorandum of Partnership Agreement between the Philippine Army and SMNI at ACQ Tower in Makati City on October 24, 2022. <em>Philippine Army handout photo</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Sonshine Media Network Inc., the media arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) religious group, on Wednesday denied involvement in the so-called &quot;Angels of Death&quot;, the supposed private army of its detained leader Apollo Quiboloy.</p><p>Quiboloy&#x27;s alleged sexual abuse victims were allegedly threated with reprisal from the &quot;Angels of Death&quot; if they break their silence on the alleged abuse.</p><p>&quot;Hindi totoo &#x27;yan (That is not true),&quot; SMNI legal counsel Mark Tolentino told ABS-CBN News, adding reservists are not even authorized to handle guns.</p><p>Tolentino said SMNI&#x27;s reservists are not a private army and are tasked with helping soldiers conduct community service when needed.</p><p>He said that as a reservist, he provides free legal advice to active duty military personnel.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/17/army-investigates-reservists-alleged-involvement-with-quiboloy-s-angels-of-death-1559">RELATED: Army investigates reservists&#x27; alleged involvement with Quiboloy’s ‘Angels of Death’</a></div><div><strong>&#x27;PRAYER WARRIORS&#x27; ONLY</strong></div><p>Tolentino also denied the existence of the &quot;Angels of Death&quot; as alleged by the Philippine National Police based on victims&#x27; statements.</p><p>&quot;Denied lahat &#x27;yon. Hindi naman talaga totoo &#x27;yan. Paano naging &#x27;Angels of Death&#x27;?&quot; he said.</p><p>(We deny everything. None of that is true. How can they be &#x27;Angels of Death&#x27;?)</p><p>In a statement, KOJC legal counsel Israelito Torreon also denied the existence of a private army, calling the claims &quot;untrue and absolutely preposterous.&quot;</p><p>He said that KOJC members are more accurately described as &quot;prayer warriors&quot; who he said are dedicated to spiritual battle, not violence.</p><p>Torreon said the allegations that KOJC has a private army are meant to &quot;smear&quot; the group and to &quot;[lay] the groundwork for future, fabricated charges.&quot;</p><p>Quiboloy, his lawyers and his followers have maintained that the abuse and trafficking cases he is facing are rehashed allegations made by disgruntled former members of the KOJC.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/9/17/pnp-forms-special-units-to-find-quiboloy-coddlers-harry-roque-1559">READ: PNP forms special units to find Quiboloy coddlers, Harry Roque</a></div><div><strong>ARMY COORDINATING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES</strong></div><p>Col. Reynaldo Balido Jr., deputy chief of the Philippine Army&#x27;s public affairs office, earlier said they will coordinate with law enforcement agencies to check if any SMNI reservists are part of the so-called private army.</p><p>SMNI was accredited as an affiliated reserve unit of the Philippine Army in 2015 and is designated the 2nd Signal Battalion.</p><div><span style="background-color:transparent">Col. Louie Dema-ala, PA spokesperson, said the 2nd Reservist Signal Battalion has around 540 members across Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao. All of the reservists in the unit are SMNI employees.</span></div><p>Dema-ala clarified that the Philippine Army has not received any reports that the SMNI reservists are involved in the alleged private army.</p><p>“The Philippine Army is also open to any requests for our counterparts, the Philippine National Police, for any assistance they need in the conduct of their investigation. We are just waiting for them dahil sila naman ‘yong primary lead agency in the conduct of investigation,” Dema-Ala told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>Dema-ala reiterated that the Philippine Army did not issue any firearms to its reservists. They can, however, get their own guns.</p><div><strong>AIR FORCE RESERVIST COMMANDER: RESERVISTS SHOULD BE APOLITICAL</strong></div><p>In a separate interview at a reservist caravan in San Juan City, Brig. Gen. Charito Plaza, wing commander of the 1st Air Force Wing Reserve told media that the military is apolitical and should not be directly involved in politics.</p><p>“Institutions like [local government unit]s or religious institutions like Pastor Quiboloy’s church — we should be very careful in inviting or commissioning reservists (from these) dahil ang military po ay apolitical, dapat hindi directly involved sa pulitika,” Plaza explained.</p><p>KOJC, which claims a global membership of around 6 million, has become an influential group, with the power to endorse candidates, as Quiboloy did for the UniTeam tandem of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2022 polls.</p><p>&quot;We are very careful na hindi magagamit ang ating mga reservists to become private armies, kaya yung recruitment sa ganyan, government, private institutions — ang rule ‘dyan dapat hindi ma-involve sa pulitika,&quot; Plaza also said in response to questions from media.</p><p>(We are very careful to prevent our reservists from becoming private armies. So, when recruiting from government and private institutions, the rule is that they should not get involved in politics)</p><p>Apart from accrediting the KOJC station as a reservist unit, the army also entered an agreement with SMNI in October 2022 &quot;toward supporting the programs and efforts of the Philippine Army to inform the people and stakeholders in the country and abroad about the command’s efforts on security, peace, and nation-building,&quot; according to a Philippine Army release.</p><p>SMNI was the subject of House hearings earlier this year on alleged violations of its legislative franchise,<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/12/house-panel-oks-bill-seeking-to-revoke-smni-s-franchise-2133"> including the alleged airing of fake news and engaging in red-tagging.</a></p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YHdHqPDrBZk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Sonshine Media Network Inc., the media arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) religious group, on Wednesday denied involvement in the so-called "Angels of Death", the supposed private army of its detained leader Apollo Quiboloy.</p>

Sonshine Media Network Inc., the media arm of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) religious group, on Wednesday denied involvement in the so-called "Angels of Death", the supposed private army of its detained leader Apollo Quiboloy.