Ben Madilynn
KINGDOM of Jesus Christ (KOJC) legal counsel lawyer Israelito Torreon announced his absence in the 2025 National and Local Midterm Elections to focus on his lawyering career.
The legal representative of embattled Pastor Apollo Quiboloy clarified on his Facebook post on September 27, 2024, saying: “Maraming nagtatanong kung tatakbo ba daw ako ngayong election, Pasensya na po. Hindi po. Concentrate muna ako sa aking Law Practice at Law Deanship (Many people are asking if I will run this coming election, I’m sorry. No. I will concentrate first on my Law Practice and Law Deanship).”
He also explained that apart from his duty as Quiboloy’s legal defender and giving the law school program of the Jose Maria College (JMC) a quality education, he also doesn’t have the funds to run his election campaign.
“Kailangan ko gampanan aking tungkulin as Defense Counsel ni Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy at iba ko pang mga clients. Kailangan din pagtuunan ng pansin ang JMC Law School. Bata pa rin masyado mga anak ko. Hindi ko pa panahon ngayon at wala rin akong pera pangampanya. Hindi ako mananalo kasi hindi ko pa panahon (I have to fulfill my role as Defense Counsel of Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy and my other clients. JMC Law School also needs attention. My children are still too young. It’s not my time yet and I don’t have money to campaign. I will not win because it’s not my time yet).”
Torreon, a Bansalan-born lawyer and politician, failed to win as a governor of Davao del Sur in the last 2022 national elections. During his campaign rally, he admitted that it never crossed his mind to run as governor of Davao del Sur but later on was inspired by the passing of lawyer Douglas Ra. Cagas.
Torreon is among the finest and most sought-after lawyers in Davao City and other parts of the country. He is the eldest son of Carlos Torreon and Thelma Pañares who are both school teachers.
He attended the University of the Philippines-Visayas for his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and finished his law at Ateneo de Davao University. He became a full-fledged lawyer on May 6, 1998.
When he was 36, he became the youngest president of the Davao del Sur chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
For more than two decades, he has been a law professor (in Ateneo de Davao University, Cor Jesu College of Law, and Jose Maria College of Law). He is also a law dean for more than 14 years already. DEF
