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Newly cemented holes found inside KOJC compound; excavation underway

Article (news)

Dennis Datu

ABS-CBN News

DAVAO CITY — Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights Chairman Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa led an ocular inspection inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound (KOJC) amid allegations of human rights violations in the pursuit to arrest fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.Joining the inspection before the scheduled Senate hearing in Davao City were Sen. Robinhood Padilla and Sen. Bong Go.Sen. Dela Rosa first inspected the KOJC cathedral, which is allegedly being used as an operations center by the police.This did not sit well with dela Rosa, especially since the cathedral is considered sacred by KOJC members, where they conduct religious ceremonies and other activities.“Dapat nirespeto nila &#x27;yun, not acceptable for me,” said dela Rosa.The basement of the Jose Maria College Foundation (JMC) building, which had been tightly secured by police in recent days, now no longer had police presence.Dela Rosa&#x27;s group noticed an area piled with lumber. Upon investigation, they discovered traces of freshly poured cement underneath the pile.Atty. Israelito Torreon, legal counsel for KOJC, suspects that this is the area where the police conducted excavations.Police suspect there may be a bunker in the area where Quiboloy is allegedly hiding, based on the heartbeat detected by the motion detector used by the police.To determine how recently the area had been covered with cement, the city building office used an ultrasonic concrete tester.It was discovered, with the use of ultrasonic concrete testing, that the cement may have been poured only 1 to 2 days prior.&quot;Mayroon talagang butas, nakita naman ninyo, natatanggal siya, from the color and texture of it talagang fresh concrete siya,&quot; said Arch. Khashayar Toghyani, officer in charge of the Office of the City Building Official of Davao City.&quot;But para fair sa lahat, nagpadala ako ng scanner, &#x27;yung ultrasonic concrete testing para ma-check kung ilang days old, ano ang current strength niya versus sa katabi niya na concrete,&quot; he said.Dela Rosa immediately ordered the excavation of the newly cemented area of the basement to see the alleged excavation done.KOJC had previously released a video proving the excavations conducted by the police, but this was neither confirmed nor denied by PBGen. Nicolas Torre III, regional director of the PNP Davao Region.“Ngayon confirm na talaga nagsisinungaling si Gen. Torre, 1-2 day old po sabi ng ultrasonic concrete testing equipment,” said Atty. Torreon.“We are afraid that there may have been certain high-tech equipment that may have been buried here; we will have this excavated again, of course with the coordination of the city building official,” he added.There were also walls in the basement that showed signs of having been drilled before being covered with new cement.Dela Rosa’s group also inspected other parts of the KOJC compound, including the Kingdome, hangar, and the gate that was reportedly damaged during the August 24 raid.Dela Rosa stated that he observed many irregularities in the operations of the PNP, especially since the authorities only held an arrest warrant.“The irregularity na nakita natin ay &#x27;yung pag-ko-conduct ng search with the absent of search warrant, at saka &#x27;yung pag-stay nila dito sa compound ng KOJC for around 13 days in the pretext of service of warrant,” said the senator.“Kung wala silang nakuha na Pastor Quibiloy, malaki, dahil I don’t know kung saan sila kumuha ng wisdom of doing such which endanger the integrity of the building kasi malalim na yung hinukay nila,” the senator added.Dela Rosa again urged Quiboloy to surrender and face the charges against him.“I was a law enforcer before I became a lawmaker so naturalmente, I&#x27;m always on the side of the law. Ngayon na he is facing a warrant of arrest ay kung pwede magpa-under jurisdiction of the court na siya, pero he has all the reasons kung bakit ayaw niya mag-surrender and we respect that reason,” said dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa's group noticed an area piled with lumber. Upon investigation, they discovered traces of freshly poured cement underneath the pile.

Dela Rosa's group noticed an area piled with lumber. Upon investigation, they discovered traces of freshly poured cement underneath the pile.