COURT CONVICTS KOJC MEMBER OVER 2024 STANDOFF HIGHWAY BLOCKADE

The Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 39 found Eduardo Corda, a member of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), guilty of violating the Public Assembly Act during the 2024 police operations against KOJC leader Apollo Quiboloy.

In a seven-page decision dated April 23, Presiding Judge Juvenal Bella sentenced Corda to four months of imprisonment.

The court ruled that Corda violated Section 13(a) of Batas Pambansa Bilang 880, also known as the Public Assembly Act of 1985.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Nicolas Torre III, who led the Davao regional police during the standoff, posted the full seven-page decision on his social media account last Friday, May 1.

The case originated from a November 24 filing by the Davao City Prosecutor's Office after the high-profile standoff at the KOJC Compound, where Corda was accused of willfully commanding KOJC members to continue their disruptive assembly, and to shout provocative slogans like "Justice for Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy and the KOJC."

In addition, the prosecutor established that Corda led a blockage of the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway using cranes, motor vehicles, and heavy equipment, and the protesters under his command reportedly threw plastic chairs, stones, and waste materials at the Civil Disturbance Management contingents.

Torre emphasized in his post that the ruling is not an act of revenge, but rather serves as a simple reminder that the law applies to everyone.

The official further asserted that if ordinary citizens must follow the law, then those in power must be held to an even higher standard of accountability.

"Discipline. Accountability. Rule of law. That is where an orderly society begins," Torre concluded in his statement.