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[Rappler’s Best] The Davao patron surrenders

SUMMARY This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article. SURFACE. Doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy surrenders on September 8, 2024. Benhur Abalos INFO ‘Quiboloy’s entrenched ties with the PNP and the AFP are the very reason they took this long to get him’ Five months after he

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

[Rappler’s Best] The Davao patron surrenders

SURFACE. Doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy surrenders on September 8, 2024.

Benhur Abalos

‘Quiboloy’s entrenched ties with the PNP and the AFP are the very reason they took this long to get him’

Five months after he vowed he “will not be caught alive” and seven months after former president Rodrigo Duterte himself gave a piece of advice “to just get yourself arrested,” Pastor Apollo Quiboloy (donning what looked like a keffiyeh!) surrendered on Sunday, September 8, to the top echelons of two institutions that he had aided and obliged for decades in the Davao region. I refer to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Quiboloy’s entrenched ties with the PNP and the AFP are the very reason they took this long to get him. The irony was probably not lost on the doomsday preacher — that the commanders whose units he showered with vehicles, parties, and gifts during his heyday had closed in on him in his sprawling kingdom. This is not to diminish the covert and overt efforts of the Intelligence Service of the AFP, the PNP Intelligence Group, and the Davao veterans in the police and the military that eventually pushed Quiboloy to a corner. But the elephant in the room is this: Quiboloy could have greased his way out with the PNP and the AFP (as he did in the past years), if not for the fact that Team Unity is no more, and the winds are definitely blowing away from Davao.

It’s common knowledge that for years, as the police and military battled communist guerrillas in the Davao Region — former bastion and stronghold of the New People’s Army — they enjoyed ample support from Quiboloy who willingly assisted them when they needed extra vehicles and extra cash for their operations, and extra allowance when they needed to unwind. Why, he was even wearing an Agila cap (the AFP’s 10th Infantry Division in Davao Region is named the Agila Division) during his surrender! Move over, Alice Guo.

In a statement last night, Quiboloy’s lawyer Israelito Torreon said his client “decided to make the ultimate sacrifice by surrendering himself to the PNP and AFP through the valiant and facilitative efforts exerted by Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib.” He named the police and military officers who apparently helped make the surrender happen, most especially the former police regional chief of Davao, Major General Benjamin Silo Jr., “whose character, integrity and honesty convinced” Quiboloy to “submit himself to the folds of the law.” Silo was one of the Davao commanders who submitted a courtesy resignation to Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos in January 2024. He was removed from Davao and transferred to Camp Crame as head of the PNP Civil Security Group. 

Various external factors shrank Quiboloy’s kingdom:

  • Let’s not forget that in 2018, Quiboloy did carry with him to the US $350,000 in undeclared cash and rifle parts in a private plane that he had flown in, along with five associates. This prompted Hawaii to temporarily hold him – and set off a process of discovery that led to an indictment for trafficking workers and breaking immigration rules.
  • The US Federal Bureau of Investigation put him on its most wanted list in 2022. American tech platforms followed, shutting down his social media accounts and removing SMNI channels from them.
  • Congress and the justice department initiated multi-faceted probes into Quiboloy and his activities. In March this year, Rappler exposed his multi-million properties in the US and Canada. Read the first part here and the second part here.
  • Also in March, a Davao court issued an arrest warrant against Quiboloy and his five associates at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ pertaining to charges related to child and sexual abuses. Because of his refusal to face the Senate, the upper chamber also ordered him arrested.
  • Then the PNP revoked his firearms licenses. The police started raiding his compound in June but botched the effort, prompting heads to roll in the PNP. 
  • Here’s a timeline of the Quiboloy-KOJC saga.

If there’s any lesson that the police and military must learn from this Quiboloy episode, it is that incestuous ties have massive consequences — including being forced to eventually bite the hands that fed you. Not to mention getting wounded as a result; the PNP said at least 60 of its men were hurt in the standoff with KOJC followers before the Sunday surrender.

On Monday, September 9, Quiboloy is scheduled to finally face the court. He had been asking, as a condition for his surrender, for the Philippines not to send him to the US. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told reporters on Monday that this condition was repeatedly rejected and that the government made clear that no conditions would be attached to his sur

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Apple

South Africans can now buy Apple, Alphabet shares as digital tokens on Luno

From early August, Luno, a cryptocurrency and digital investment platform, will allow its users in South Africa to invest in tokenised stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), making global equities like Apple and Alphabet accessible for as little as R20 ($1.13). The move positions Luno as a multi-asset investment platform and marks what it says is

From early August, Luno, a cryptocurrency and digital investment platform, will allow its users in South Africa to invest in tokenised stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), making global equities like Apple and Alphabet accessible for as little as R20 ($1.13). The move positions Luno as a multi-asset investment platform and marks what it says is a first-of-its-kind offering in South Africa’s fast-evolving financial landscape.

Tokenised stocks are digital representations of real shares, backed 1:1 by actual securities. By enabling access via rands, Luno is removing longstanding barriers such as currency conversion costs, high fees, and trading-hour restrictions for retail investors in emerging markets.

“Until now, access to global financial markets has been locked behind red tape and legacy systems,” said Christo de Wit, Luno’s country manager for South Africa. “With tokenised stocks, we are offering South African investors easy access to global investments any time of the day or night.”

The platform will support over 60 U.S. companies and market indices, including Apple, Alphabet, NVIDIA, and the S&P 500. These tokenised products are made available through partnerships with infrastructure providers like Kraken’s xStocks and Backed Finance, which Luno says will ensure regulatory compliance, secure custody, and alignment with global financial standards.

How Luno tokenised stocks work

Customers can start investing with as little as R20 ($1.13), even in companies like Apple and Google. Instead of paying nearly R4,000 ($226) for a full Apple share, they can buy just a piece. These tokens are digital versions of real stocks, and customers trade them through blockchain. 

“This represents a fundamental shift in how we think about investing,” explained de Wit. “We are not just digitising old processes, we are reimagining what is possible when you combine improved technology with investor needs.”

Launched in 2013, Luno has grown to become one of Africa’s leading crypto exchanges, but now it’s adding tokenised stocks and ETFs. South Africa remains one of the continent’s most active crypto markets. Over 5 million South Africans are estimated to own crypto, with digital asset ownership expected to grow by nearly 8% annually through 2031.

Luno competes with platforms like VALR, Binance, AltcoinTrader, and wealthtech apps like EasyEquities and Satrix that focus mainly on traditional stocks and ETFs. 

Still, the expansion into tokenised equities could bring Luno under closer scrutiny. As digital tokens backed by real-world financial instruments, these offerings may fall within capital market regulations, including investor protection and transparency requirements. South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is already in the process of licencing crypto asset providers and building a clearer framework for digital securities.

Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com

Sakhile Dube Associate Reporter

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House Republicans on Monday night voted against attaching a Democratic amendment to landmark cryptocurrency legislation that would force the Justice Department to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.Why it matters: It’s the outcome Democrats anticipated, and one they plan to gleefully cite as President Trump continues to grapple with the MAGA fallout over the DOJ’s handling of the documents.”The question with Epstein is: Whose side are you on?” Rep…
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Some of Microsoft’s social media accounts recently poked fun at the upcoming “Liquid Glass” user interface design language Apple unveiled at WWDC this week. Although the Cupertino giant has hailed the update as a major innovation, many immediately began comparing it to Microsoft’s nearly two-decade-old Windows Vista UI.Read Entire Article…

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