DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 April) – A powerful group may be coddling Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, who has evaded the arrest orders of the Senate and the Regional Trial Courts (RTC) in the cities of Davao and Pasig, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Monday.
In an interview with ABS-CBN’s ANC Headstart, Hontiveros said that the fugitive pastor has been mocking the Senate and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for his refusal to submit himself to authorities, after he was ordered arrested on allegations of sexual abuse and human trafficking.
“It’s very probable that he is being coddled by any number or kinds or groups of people. Diba karaniwang mamayan, kung may warrant, wow, mas mabilis pa sa alas kwatro na procure yung tao at napapaharap sa korte (If an ordinary citizen gets a warrant, wow, the jurisdiction over this person can be procured faster before 4:00 p.m. to face the court). How powerful or rich this person (Quiboloy) is that he can pretend to be above the law,” she said.
She said that there could be a “failure of intelligence” in tracking the whereabouts of Quiboloy, the self-appointed “Son of God,” who has been at large for several weeks since the issuance of warrants of arrest against him.
“Why is it taking so long to pinpoint the whereabouts of Quiboloy? He is really thumbing his nose at our institutions, imagine recently nag bugtong pa sya about his location (he gave a riddle of his whereabouts),” she said
Hontiveros added that the pastor has been insulting government institutions like the Senate and now, the PNP, by not yielding himself.
Last March 19, the Senate ordered him arrested after he was cited in contempt for continuously defying its order to appear in the investigations of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.
Last Friday, PNP chief Rommel Marbil approved the recommendation to revoke the gun permits of the fugitive religious leader.
But Hontiveros said that instead of six months, the PNP should shorten the deadline for Quiboloy to surrender all his 19 loose firearms to authorities.
She said that authorities should also disband his “private army.”
“Quiboloy would remain armed and dangerous. Yung private army mismo ang nagbabalandra ng kanilang formation at mga armas right on social media (The members of his private army themselves are brandishing their firearms right on social media),” she said.
As of 4:37 p.m. Monday, Police Regional Office-Davao spokesperson Major Catherine Dela Rey and Davao City Police Office spokesperson Capt. Hazel Tuazon have yet to respond to request for comments.
In the US, Quiboloy has been on the wanted list of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation since February 2022 amid numerous indictments for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling after a federal warrant was issued in November 2021 against him.
The RTC-Branch 12 in Davao City released a warrant of arrest against Quiboloy and his co-accused Jackielyn W. Roy, Barangay Tamayong chairman Cresente Canada, Paulene Canada, Ingrid C. Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes in the crime of child abuse last April 3.
This after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla reversed the resolution of the Office of the City Prosecutor of Davao last March that dismissed the complaints for rape, qualified human trafficking, and child abuse against the respondents.
Cresente, Paulene, and Cemañes were arrested on the same day the warrant of arrest was issued while Roy and Ingrid surrendered the following day. All five were released from detention after posting bail of P80,000 each.
Last April 11, a Pasig City RTC released a warrant of arrest against Quiboloy based on qualified human trafficking charges. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
