DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJOC) and “spiritual adviser” of former President Rodrigo Duterte, remains in hiding as he refuses to appear in a Senate inquiry looking into alleged abuses of his former members.
The self-proclaimed “appointed Son of God” has been subpoenaed twice in the past week to appear in the Senate in Manila, and may face arrest if he does not show up on the next scheduled inquiry on March 5.
The hearing, pushed by Senator Risa Hontiveros, looks into Quiboloy’s alleged involvement in sexual abuses. The Senate last year made a similar inquiry on the religious cult Socorro Bayanihan based in Surigao del Norte.
This is the latest debacle of the 73-year-old Davao-based preacher, who is facing investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on a similar case of trafficking and abuse of women in his KJOC operations in the United States.
He is also invited to the ongoing House committee inquiry on his broadcast network, known for programs that promote red-tagging of activists, on irregularities on its franchise, and on disinformation.
The preacher refuses to appear in the Senate, and in a 36-minute audio recording posted last week on Sonshine Media on YouTube, claimed that there is a plot between the Marcos administration and the United States government to “eliminate” him through rendition. Rendition is the process of surrendering a crime suspect from one state to another to face trial.
Quiboloy also ranted against “leftist” lawmakers who pursued the inquiries in Congress.
The “leftist” lawmakers are not amused by the preacher’s claims. In a statement, Senator Hontiveros said: “Wag pong pa-victim. Ang hinihingi lang sa inyo ay humarap sa mga legal na proseso, kasama ang proseso ng Senate investigation. ‘Wag ninyo pong dalhin sa lenggwahe ng patayan, kahit ‘yan ang nakasanayan ninyo. (Don’t play victim. All we ask is for you to face the legal process, which includes the Senate investigation. Don’t drag this to talks about killing, which is something you are used to.)”
The progressive Makabayan Bloc reacted to Quiboloy’s statement saying he was pursued by women because he got rich and he had rejected their advances.
“’wag ka ngang feelingero (Don’t flatter yourself),” Castro said in a press conference last week, “Ang akala mo ay hinahabol ka ng mga kababaihan, hinahabol ka dahil sa accountability mo at pananagutan mo sa mga kababaihan. (You assume women are chasing you, but actually you are being pursued to make you accountable for what you did to them.)”
Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas also said the women who accused him of trafficking want justice.
Quiboloy said he will not face the Senate inquiry as he has been pre-judged already.
“You already convicted me in your hearing; that’s wrong. I will not subject myself to unfair statements. I will not subject myself to injustices done under the cloak of a Senate hearing. But I will face you on one condition: I will face any of you even though you have 100 witnesses or pay 100 witnesses. I will face you anywhere, anytime in a court of law,” Quiboloy said.
Quiboloy started his KJOC in the 1980s in Davao City, and his ministry expanded decades later, acquiring a broadcasting franchise and building a “prayer mountain” in Tamayong that is controversial over the murder of an indigenous leader. (davaotoday.com)
davao, Quiboloy
