EDITORIAL - Duterte’s secret

There’s a man with arrest warrants for several offenses including sexual and child abuse as well as human trafficking, who is wanted by the Senate and is on the most wanted list of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of this wanted man has a civic duty to turn him over to authorities.

This duty does not exempt former presidents of the republic. But Rodrigo Duterte apparently thinks he enjoys the exemption. Talking with reporters in Tacloban City last Sunday, Duterte said he knows where Apollo Quiboloy is, but would not disclose it. Police have been trying in vain to serve court-issued warrants for the arrest of the pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

“If the question is, ‘where is pastor?’ – I know where, but it’s a secret,” Duterte said. “He does not want to surrender. So don’t surrender.” An ordinary citizen who issues similar statements could face arrest for obstruction of justice and be suspected of harboring a fugitive. Why not a former president?

In the absence of Quiboloy, Duterte is the administrator of KOJC properties. But being a former president, shouldn’t Duterte lead by example in showing respect for the law? In Tacloban, he clarified that he is not pushing for the ouster of the Marcos administration. His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, has also clarified that she is not part of the opposition, despite her resignation effective July 19 as secretary of education and co-vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

There is no denying, however, that the Dutertes and the Marcos administration are not on good terms. Quiboloy has also been a long-time staunch supporter of the former president, who is known to put a premium on friendship and loyalty. So Duterte’s assistance in putting the pastor under police custody cannot be expected.

At the same time, however, Duterte also declared that “I am pro-police, pro-military,” as he declined to comment on the recent failed efforts of the police to serve the warrants for Quiboloy’s arrest. If the former president is truly pro-police, he should help them carry out their task of bringing Quiboloy to justice.