MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte said he would file charges against the Philippine National Police (PNP) over the Monday raid on the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KoJC) compound in Davao City.
In a statement on Friday, Duterte -- a staunch supporter of the preacher -- called the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group's (CIDG) raid to arrest Quiboloy, an "overkill in any language" and a "clear violation of the law."
"Except for the over-publicized arrest warrants, the raiders did not present any search warrant in all of the church properties [they raided]," the former president said.
Duterte, who serves as the administrator of church properties, said he would take "legal and appropriate action" against the police over what he called a "day of infamy" to the church's members and to "all citizens who uphold the rule of law."
"While I am saddened by this, given my personal, and in the past, official, support for the police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, my duties as Administrator of Church Properties demand that I take legal and appropriate action," he said.
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"In line with this, I have ordered not only the preparation of affidavits of all members aggrieved and traumatized by the said unfortunate incident but also an inventory of church properties destroyed as a consequence," he added.
Duterte said that it was unfortunate that the administration of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is obsessed with demonizing Quiboloy, who has always supported the former chief executive, is a "clear maneuver" in diverting attention from other issues in the country, particularly corruption, incompetence and abuse of authority.
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Police operatives on Monday raided the KoJC compound, armed with a warrant for the arrest of Quiboloy, who is wanted in the United States for labor and sexual trafficking.
I Carabinieri della Stazione di Roma Settecamini e quelli del Nucleo Operativo della Compagnia di Tivoli hanno arrestato un 21enne, di origine cubana ma domiciliato nel quartiere Ponte di Nona, gravemente indiziato dei reati di detenzione illegale di armi e munizionamento, fabbricazione illegale di armi e di munizioni. I militari hanno eseguito una perquisizione domiciliare a casa dell’indagato, scoprendo un laboratorio per la fabbricazione clandestina di armi e munizioni.
In particolare, i Carabinieri hanno trovato un revolver con all’interno proiettili sotto il cuscino del letto del giovane. Mentre in cantina hanno rinvenuto un pericoloso fucile mitragliatore totalmente artigianale, una pistola riverniciata con la matricola parzialmente abrasa, una pistola scaccia-cani e una pistola a forma di penna.
Oltre alle armi, i Carabinieri hanno poi sequestrato numerosi materiali e strumenti di precisione, quali tornio, seghe e attrezzi, necessari per produrre armi, nonché diversi appunti manoscritti con progetti di fabbricazione, redatti dal giovane. Gli investigatori hanno trovato anche due lacrimogeni artigianali di grandi dimensioni, nonché polvere da sparo e tutto il materiale per produrre artifizi pirotecnici ed ordigni di specie pericolosa. Il materiale è stato messo in sicurezza e sequestrato insieme a 100 cartucce artigianalmente prodotte e 20 grammi di hashish. (ITALPRESS)
Canada has been making plans in case civil war breaks out in the US, as the nation's polarization reaches an all-time-high ahead of the presidential election.
A think tank within Trudeau's government called Policy Horizons Canada surveyed hundreds of experts and government officials about potential disruptive events and proposed to the Canadian government they should consider preparing for civil war in the US.
In a 37-page document covered by Politico, researchers included the possibility of 'U.S. ideological divisions, democratic erosion, and domestic unrest escalate, plunging the country into civil war.'
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As the rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump nears, the report's authors claimed an American civil war is 'an improbably but ultra-high impact event.'
The 'high-impact' category included the proliferation of homemade biological weapons, antibiotic-resistant pathogens leading to mass death and food shortages, and the outbreak of World War 3.
Canada has been advised to make plans in case civil war breaks out in the US, as the nation's polarization reaches an all-time-high ahead of the presidential election. Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Brookings Institution scholar John McArthur told Politico the report could reflect how concern the Canadian government is about American politics.
McArthur explained that former president Donald Trump's isolationist approach to foreign politics might have 'rattled the Canadian psyche and upended decades-old economic relationships.'
Trump's general demeanor towards Canada, including when he trashed Trudeau after a G7 meeting, have left a lasting impact in Canadians, according to McArthur.
The report emphasizes the urgency of developing new technology to deal with the threat of cyber attacks that could disable critical infrastructure or emergency services being overwhelmed.
The report does not specify how civil war in the US might materialize, but Politico's Alexander Burns theorizes that, ironically, it could look like the Quebec separatism battle in the 1960s.
That conflict was not a full-blown civil war, but a prolonged, sustained attack on the federal government which saw bombings, kidnappings and robberies for a decade.
As Burns points out, the US is a 'heavily armed country with a contested federal system and proud, powerful provincial identities' in states like Texas and California.
Meanwhile, 'The next president is sure to be loathed by much of the country, and likely seen as illegitimate by at least a large minority,' he adds.
'It does not take a kaleidoscopic imagination to see how that set of conditions could lead to our own October Crisis.'
Civil War, released to chime with the U.S. election this November, invites the viewer to reflect on the troubling extremism of contemporary US politics
New movie Civil War imagines the United States divided
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This is the approach of the movie Civil War, released to chime with the U.S. election this November.
The film invites the viewer to reflect on the troubling extremism of contemporary US politics. One chauvinist character kills another just for being Chinese. There's a reference to a legendary 'Antifa Massacre', plus several nods towards the infamous storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
One chauvinist character kills another just for being Chinese. There's a reference to a legendary 'Antifa Massacre', plus several nods towards the infamous storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Worrying about the break-up of the United States has become a national obsession. Recent surveys show that more than 40 per cent of Americans think a new civil war will be fought within the next decade.
More than four-in-ten US voters say the country is likely to get ripped apart in a second civil war within five years, according to a poll released last month.
The Rasmussen Reports poll shows that 41 percent eye a civil conflict, compared to 49 percent who say it's not likely. Another 10 percent said they were not sure.
That amounts to 106 million US adults saying civil war is on the horizon.
