PNCWD, DSWSR11 rescue man, woman from KOJC compound

On Sunday, August 25, authorities rescued a man and a woman from the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City during a police operation to serve an arrest warrant for Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

The Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Desk and the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 11 conducted the rescue operation after receiving requests from family members seeking help to free their relatives who were reportedly prevented from leaving the compound.

One rescued individual is a 20-year-old man named Lorenzo from Eastern Samar, who left with a KOJC member in 2021 for a promised scholarship but has had no direct communication with his parents since then. The other is a 52-year-old woman from Cotabato's Midsayap town whose situation was reported by her daughter.

Both individuals had been members of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s church and were facing restrictions inside the KOJC compound, with Lorenzo being confined there since June 2024.

The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) urged other victims to come forward on Monday after the rescue operation, encouraging cooperation from KOJC members in identifying and rescuing potential victims.