Journalist targeted by cropped video of police hunt for wanted Philippine pastor

A journalist covering a police manhunt for a Philippine pastor wanted for child abuse did not give orders to officers during the search operation, contrary to claims on social media. Longer footage of the incident, which was taken out of context in a clip shared online, in fact shows Gretchen Ho telling a policeman that she was leaving the area due to uncertainty over a court order.  

"Now what... she's the one commanding the #PNP?" read a Tagalog-language X post, referring to the Philippine National Police, that shared the video on August 31.

The footage shows Gretchen Ho, a journalist for Philippine broadcaster One News, telling a policeman: "There's already a court order, so it's a bit tricky for us".

The post appears to suggest Ho was referring to both the police officer and herself when she said the situation was tricky for "us". 

"Gretchen Ho Caught on Her Own Camera 'IT'S A BIT TRICKY FOR US'," read Tagalog text overlaid on the video.

The clip shows Ho and police in a tense exchange with members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) -- a sect founded by Philippine pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who faces charges in Manila of child abuse, sexual abuse and human trafficking.

Ho is told by bystanders that they "don't allow any media" on the premises because of a court ruling.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on September 10, 2024

Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed "appointed son of God" and close ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, surrendered on September 8 amid a massive two-week police search of the KOJC's sprawling compound in Davao (archived link).

Duterte -- who along with his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte is embroiled in a public spat with President Ferdinand Marcos -- has condemned the police operation as "political harassment, persecution, violence and abuse of authority" (archived link). 

The clip, which racked up 1.7 million views in a similar TikTok post, prompted a flurry of comments accusing Ho of giving orders to police.

"I wasn't informed that Gretchen Ho is now a police officer too," one read.

"This just means the operation of the terrorist AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)/PNP is ILLEGAL because they're working with Gretchen," said another.

Cropped video

Reverse image searches on Google found a longer video of the incident posted on One News's official Facebook page (archived link).

"EXCLUSIVE: The team of One News' Gretchen Ho was allowed into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound on Tuesday, August 27, by the Philippine National Police to personally witness the serving of the arrest warrant and verify claims of what was happening inside," the post said.

"This occurred just before the temporary protection order (TPO) was formally handed down by the Davao RTC. However, their team did not make it very far."

That day, a court ordered police to stop any actions that could harm the "life, liberty, or security" of KOJC members at the compound and to remove all barricades and blockages restricting their access (archived link).

In the video, Ho says: "For now, we can't enter because the Temporary Protection Order has just been served. We need to clarify its boundaries because we don't want to step on any legal issues."

The clip shared on social media (below-left) was taken from the three-minute, 18-second mark of the longer video (right):

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Screenshot comparison between the clip shared in false posts (left) and the longer video posted by One News (right)

Ho clarified in an X post that she and her team left the compound to avoid violating the court order (archived link).

"Out of respect to the request of the lawyers of KOJC, we turned back, so we would not violate anything," she wrote on September 1.

"I was explaining what I meant by 'tricky', if only you guys had bothered to post the full video that I published."

AFP has previously debunked misinformation about Quiboloy here.