The Davao Region Police plans to request the Philippine National Police (PNP) to revoke the firearm licenses of alleged members of the ‘Angels of Death,’ an armed group associated with religious leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
PRO 11 Director Police BGen. Nicolas Torre III stated in an interview with DZRH that the group is composed of former accredited reservists.
"Meron talaga. Accredited sila kaya lang as time went by, nawawala ang control lalo na itong panahon na ito na noong kailangan nilang proteksyunan kahit mali na, kasi ang loyalty nila na kay Quiboloy," Torre said.
"Nalihis sila ng landas. Nawala na ang accreditation nila sa mga security unit. Nagsarili sila. Talagang reservist ang mga ‘yan," he added.
He also mentioned that there are active police officers and soldiers in the religious leader's so-called army, but they hold lower ranks.
The PRO-11 head reiterated the need to neutralize the 'Angels of Death' immediately before anyone gets harmed by them.
Furthermore, the group lacks official accreditation, making them illegal in a sense. However, some members still possess firearm licenses, which is considered a privilege.
Torre mentioned that they are already gathering the names of the members of the 'Angels of Death' to recommend them to PNP Chief PGen. Rommel Marbil. Since the PNP holds regulatory authority over firearm possession, they can revoke the licenses of the said members.
"Talagang reservist ang mga 'yan. As in accredited reservist. Hindi naman mahirap ang pag-trace sa kanila at sila'y aming ire-require na mag-turn in ng kanilang firearms," said Torre.
The PNP previously announced that they would investigate the so-called 'Angels of Death' of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), who are allegedly used to intimidate victims of abuse by Quiboloy.
However, Quiboloy’s camp strongly denies the existence of such a group within the KOJC compound, refuting claims that it acts as its police force.
