The Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) slammed the VIP treatment accorded detained cult leader, racketeer and senatorial candidate Apollo Quiboloy, whose recorded video message was the highlight of his kick-off campaign at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on February 11, 2024.
“It is highly questionable why Quiboloy, who is facing human trafficking and child abuse charges and is now back at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in Pasig City after his confinement at a private hospital, was allowed by the court to record his video,” said SELDA vice chairperson Danilo dela Fuente. “It is well-known that persons under BJMP custody are strictly prohibited from using or possessing cameras, video equipment, cellular phones and similar devices.”
“Quiboloy’s recorded message during his campaign’s kick-off activity smacks of VIP treatment.”
“We in SELDA decry the double standard being applied on detainees,” added Dela Fuente, “with overly strict rules for poor detainees and political prisoners, and extra special treatment for moneyed, powerful and influential people like Quiboloy.”
In 2015, visitation privileges of detainees at the Metro Manila District Jail 4 in Bicutan, Taguig City were suspended because political prisoners at the facility wrote Pope Francis about the dismal conditions in the jail.
On August 22, 2019, former general Jovito Palparan, who has been convicted for the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, was interviewed by Mocha Uson, former assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, who called for his release.
More recently, on March 30, 2022, the Bureau of Corrections allowed an interview with Palparan by then National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Lorraine Badoy that was aired over the Quiboloy-owned SMNI.
“We demand a stop to the practice of providing media mileage to such execrable human rights violators,” Dela Fuente concluded.