Lapiang Malaya, Branch Davidian and Quiboloy

It is not always true that nothing comes out of nothing. Sometimes, something appreciably positive wriggles out of nothing. This happened the other day when I was scrolling my cellphone without purpose. That what I was doing was random and purposeless, I considered it as practically nothing.

Then, I came upon the Internet entry on Lapiang Malaya (Freedom Movement or Freedom Party) and dreadful memories came rushing back to my mind. It was sometime in the summer classes of 1967, when I just entered college that this religious-political fanatical group led by cult leader Valentin de los Santos, a one-time losing presidential candidate versus Boholano late President Carlos P. Garcia, tried to unseat Ferdinand Edralin Marcos from Malacanang. The result was a carnage. Uniformed men versus civilian. Filipino blood spilled.  My recollection saw men armed with sharpened bolos met gun fire volleys. All kinds of their amulets were exposed when the white and red uniform of LM cultists got shredded by unforgiving bullets. The nothingness of aimless cellphone scrolling produced graphic historical accounts of an infamous incident reported worldwide.

Wanting to free my mind of the images of the bloody Lapiang Malaya massacre, I continued playing with my cellphone but another world scene popped up. This time, the apparent scene was Waco, a city in central Texas, USA famous for its Cameron Park Zoo, home to lions, otters and meerkats. Waco is widely known for the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in 1993, when agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh for stockpiling weapons and explosives at a ranch outside town. “After a 51-day standoff, says the Internet, dozens of Davidians were killed during the botched final operation, along with multiple members of U.S. law enforcement. The tragedy was broadcast live and shook the world.”

When I went back to scrolling, I came upon the news that a warrant for the arrest and detention of one sect leader and anointed son of god named Apollo Quibobloy was signed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri. The signing of the arrest warrant was deemed ministerial by the senate president and in accordance with the rules of the upper chamber and the rules governing inquiries in aid of legislation.”

“The Sergeant-At-Arms is hereby directed to carry out and implement this Order and make the return within 24 hours xxx” the warrant in part states. That directive is also an authority to call on the police in case there is resistance to its implementation. Given the earlier pronouncements of Quiboloy that the USA which has likewise reportedly issued warrants for his arrest for many other crimes is colluding with our government, there is a possibility that he will elude from being taken into custody. It is probably in his mind that with his arrest upon the order of the senate, extradition might follow. Unfortunately for him, he cannot use his kind of power that made him claim as responsible for stopping, earthquakes and typhoons.

With Quiboloy’s fear of eventual extradition to America for him to face reported multiple indictments, he might order his forces who are reputedly as fanatical as Valentin de los Santos and David Koresh followers, to resist the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms, even with armed force and when that occurs, God forbid, the scene of the Lapiang Malaya massacre and the Branch Davidian onslaught might happen again!