EDITORIAL - Abuse of authority

If the protest against “abuse of authority” and trampling of constitutional rights had been aired in the previous administration, there would have been no question about the subject of the complaint. So there’s some confusion over the protestations of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter the Vice President, who bemoaned the “gross abuse of police power” in the latest police raid on the property of their supporter, pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

Human rights advocates might in fact worry about the endangerment of civil liberties when about 2,000 cops swooped down on the vast estate in Davao City where Quiboloy is believed to be holed up under the protection of his followers in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Five KOJC members are also wanted by authorities in connection with the human trafficking and child sex abuse charges filed against the pastor.

Police are again denying “overkill” in the raid after the first one on July 10 when they failed to find Quiboloy. Vice President Sara Duterte, in a statement, condemned the “harassment of religious worshippers, the abuse of minors, and the unnecessary loss of life” – referring to a KOJC member who reportedly died of a heart attack during the raid.

The courts might be asked to define the line between the civil liberties that the Vice President says were violated, and harboring a fugitive or obstruction of justice, which the government is reportedly eyeing in the case not only of certain KOJC members but also the former president himself, who is the administrator of Quiboloy’s assets in the absence of the pastor.

In her statement, the Vice President said the conduct of the police raids to enforce court-issued arrest warrants for Quiboloy is “not only a blatant violation of constitutionally protected rights, but a betrayal of the trust that we, Filipinos, place in the very institution sworn to protect and serve us.” Those words were often heard during her father’s presidency, by relatives of the thousands killed on mere suspicion of involvement in illegal drugs.

Someone else will have to champion the civil liberties that might have been compromised in the police raids on the KOJC compound, and even in the withdrawal of the franchise issued to Quiboloy’s Swara Sug media company, which operated Sonshine Media Network International. As recent developments are showing, precedents are set when rights are trampled, and measures must be undertaken to prevent their repeat.

After six years of mass killings, the Dutertes are in no position to champion human rights. While you don’t correct a wrong with another wrong, the former president and his daughter shouldn’t be surprised if the reaction to their laments about abuse of authority is, “look who’s talking.”