Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Christ
Analysis
Teodoro Alcuitas
Editor, Philippine Canadian News
After two years of evading justice, the controversial preacher and Duterte confidant Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Christ is now facing a senate investigation into alleged human trafficking, sexual abuse, rape and child abuse incidents.
Opposition Senator Riza Hontiveros filed a resolution yesterday (December 12) seeking an investigation into how Quiboloy reportedly coerced children to perform sexual acts on adults and sexually trafficked minors — findings of which may also serve as a baseline assessment of the Philippines’ own human trafficking laws.
Quiboloy has been able to elude arrest even as he faces charges in the U. S. filed on November 2021 by a court in California in related to his alleged “conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.” He is listed as the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Most Wanted List. Because the Philippines and the U.S. has an extradition treaty, he cannot be arrested until the U.S. requests to do so.
Despite President Rodrigo Duterte no longer in power, Quiboloy still has powerful allies in the government – Senators Bong Go and Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, not to mention Vice-President Sara Duterte.
“An investigation in aid of legislation will also allow us to determine whether our updated human trafficking laws are able to cover large-scale and systemic acts of trafficking done under the cover of a religious organization,” the resolution penned by Hontiveros noted.
The proposed Senate investigation seeks to launch a domestic investigation into Quiboloy, who Hontiveros emphasized “remains free to run the operations of (the Kingdom of Jesus Christ)” even as the alleged criminal acts he and his group is accused of are “taking place even at present.”
The US Department of Treasury in 2022 blocked Quiboloy’s assets over what it described as “serious human rights abuses” committed by the preacher.
“For more than a decade, Apollo Carreon Quiboloy engaged in serious human rights abuse, including a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape of girls as young as 11 years old, as well as other physical abuse,” the US Treasury said.
The Quiboloy church empire is active throughout the world including Canada where it has a large following. Its members are spread throughout collection ‘donations’ for the Church’s alleged charitable enterprises. It operates Children’s Joy Foundation (CJFI) under Canada’s tax laws which allows registered organizations to collect money and issue tax receipts. His followers however, collect small amounts through collection boxes which are thus remitted to the organization without a proper accounting.
According to a redacted copy of the investigation by Canada Revenue Agency, Children’s Joy Foundation (CJFI) was incorporated on January 2013 and was revoked on June 30, 2017 for violations of the Act.