Megachurch Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in standoff with Philippines police over alleged child-sex trafficking

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte criticized leaders of the Philippine National Police Monday after some 2,000 officers raided the 74-acre compound of fugitive televangelist and Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy in a bid to arrest him on charges of child abuse and human trafficking, which he and his followers have denied.

Quiboloy, who is also on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for similar charges, including conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud, and the sex trafficking of children, remains on the run as his members continue to wage public protests and accumulate charges as they seek to prevent his arrest. At least one person reportedly died during the raid and several others were injured.

“We sympathize with the members of the KOJC for having become victims of political harassment, persecution, violence, and abuse of authority. This certainly puts a dark stain on the hands of those involved in today’s incident, led by no less than the top police official of the region,” the former Philippines president said in a statement Saturday cited by Inquirer.net. Get Our Latest News for FREE

Some 18 members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church were arrested Monday during a protest in front of their compound in Davao City, GMA News Online reported.

Ferdinand Topacio, a lead attorney for Quiboloy, told Bilyonaryo News Channel that the church is considering filing a human rights complaint to the United Nations regarding the police raid, arguing that the country is under a “virtual dictatorship” and no local court or institution can help them.

Duterte, who is the designated administrator of the church’s frozen assets, said in his statement that police “forced their way” into the church’s compound, causing the death of a member but police say the victim died from fatigue.

An indictment from the Department of Justice in 2021 charged Quiboloy and two of his top administrators with trafficking young women and girls in the U.S. who were coerced into having sex with him under threats of “eternal damnation.” The controversial megachurch pastor allegedly claimed that sex with him was a “privilege” and “God’s will.”

“Defendant Quiboloy and other KOJC administrators coerced pastorals (personal assistants) into performing ‘night duty’ — that is, sex — with defendant Quiboloy under the threat of physical and verbal abuse and eternal damnation by defendant Quiboloy and other KOJC administrators,” the indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice alleges. “Defendant Quiboloy and other KOJC administrators told pastorals that performing ‘night duty’ was ‘God’s will’ and a privilege, as well as a necessary demonstration of the pastoral’s commitment to give her body to defendant Quiboloy as ‘The Appointed Son of God.’”

The 2021 charges were an expansion of allegations made in early 2020 against three Los Angeles-based administrators of the church and names nine defendants, including the now 74-year-old Quiboloy, and his two administrators, Teresita Tolibas Dandan, also known as “Tessie,” and “Sis Ting,” now 62, of Davao City. The “international administrator” was one of the top overseers of KOJC and the Glendale-based Children’s Joy Foundation in the United States.

The other top administrator, Felina Salinas, also known as “Sis Eng Eng,” 53, of Kapolei, Hawaii, allegedly collected and secured passports, and other documents from KOJC workers in Hawaii. She also allegedly directed funds solicited from church members to church officials in the Philippines.

Quiboloy, Dandan and Salinas are charged in count one of a superseding indictment, which alleges the sex trafficking conspiracy. Each of them is charged in at least three of five substantive counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.

Quiboloy, who claims to have 4 million tithing followers in the Philippines, 2 million more overseas, and reaches 600 million viewers worldwide through his TV station, is a former member of the United Pentecostal Church. He founded the Restorationism church in 1985 after he claimed to have received a calling from God. According to Asia Times, Quiboloy claims that God came to his mother in the form of a cloud after he was born, and declared, "That's my son."

This is from the BBC:

Standoff as police close in on ‘Son of God’ pastor

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2g7n1ypwlo

A standoff has erupted in the Philippines as thousands of police officers descended on a sprawling religious compound in search of an influential pastor who has been accused of child sex trafficking amongst other crimes.

Police say they will not leave until they have found Apollo Quiboloy, who calls himself the “appointed Son of God”.

He is believed to be hiding inside his 30 hectare (75 acres) complex, which houses some 40 buildings, including a cathedral, a school and even a hangar.

Authorities have been on the hunt for Mr Quiboloy for months. He had earlier said he would “not be caught alive”.

Police raided the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound late on Saturday, with reports saying they later used tear gas against Mr Quiboloy’s followers who had become “unruly and violent”, Davao police spokesperson Major Catherina dela Rey told news outlet Rappler.

Hundreds of Mr Quiboloy’s followers have blocked parts of a major highway in an attempt to disrupt traffic to the compound.

They maintain his innocence, saying allegations against him are fabricated.

One supporter of the group died from a heart attack during the police raid.

Police believe Mr Quiboloy is hiding in an underground bunker based on equipment that is believed to be able to detect people behind walls based on their heartbeat, said Maj dela Rey.

Mr Quiboloy’s KOJC claims to have seven million followers and he has grown his ministry through television, radio and social media.

He is also politically influential and serves as spiritual adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose family rules Davao city politics.

Since Mr Duterte stepped down in 2022, authorities have been pursuing charges against Mr Quiboloy.

He is accused of trafficking his followers to the US to solicit donations for bogus charities. He also allegedly required his female followers, some underage, to have sex with him as a religious duty.

He has said that the “devil” was behind his legal woes. He has also said that he does not want the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to “meddle” in his case.

Mr Quiboloy said in April that he was “preserving” himself by hiding from authorities.

“I am not hiding from the charges because I am guilty. That’s not true. I am just protecting myself,” he said.

Who is Apollo Quiboloy?

Mr Quiboloy is the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, a Christian sect that claims to have seven million members.

He claims to have heard God whisper to him “I will use you” while attending an event by American pastor Billy Graham in South Korea in 1973. This led him to set up the KOJC in the Philippines’ Davao in 1985.

Mr Quiboloy preaches from a glass table that is set against giant photographs of his lush hilltop estate called the “Garden of Eden Restored”.

When he is not in Davao, he has been seen travelling on his private jet.

His rise to national prominence has mirrored that of Mr Duterte. Both started in Davao, where the former president served as mayor.

When Mr Duterte was elected president in 2016, Mr Quiboloy’s profile rose even higher. But that started to diminish when Mr Duterte left office in 2022.

Outside of his alliance with Mr Duterte, Mr Quiboloy has also gained considerable clout by endorsing politicians during elections.

Mr Quiboloy was a supporter of one of Duterte’s predecessors, Gloria Arroyo.

When he endorsed Arroyo’s choice of successor in the 2010 elections, Mr Quiboloy claimed to have seen the candidate’s name in a vision that included then US President Barack Obama.

In the Philippines, leaders of religious organisations and sects become politically powerful when they direct their followers to vote as a bloc, analysts say.

Electoral contests can get so cutthroat that some candidates believe the endorsement of leaders like Mr Quiboloy could make or break their campaign.

“Politics in the Philippines is very much a moral exercise. Therefore, voters look to their religious leaders for guidance,” political scientist Cleve Arguelles told BBC News.

What are the charges against him?

In 2021, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Mr Quiboloy with sex trafficking of children, fraud and coercion and bulk cash smuggling.

The FBI said he trafficked girls and women from the Philippines to the US, where they are forced to solicit money for a bogus charity.

He also required his female personal assistants, who are called “pastorals”, to have sex with him, the FBI said.
FBI FBI wanted poster Apollo QuiboloyFBI

In January 2022, the FBI released a wanted poster seeking information on Mr Quiboloy’s whereabouts.

Last March, the Philippines DOJ filed human trafficking and sexual harassment charges against Mr Quiboloy, for allegedly abusing a teenage woman in 2011.

Courts in both the US and Philippine have issued warrants for his arrest.

Mr Quiboloy has denied the charges against him and has accused US authorities of pre-judging his case.

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