Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Friday, Nov. 19, said the Philippine government has not received any request from the United States government to extradite Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, President Duterte’s spiritual adviser.
Published reports stated that Quiboloy -- leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name (KOJC) -- has been indicted by a federal grant jury of sex trafficking together with other members of his religious group.
“As of this date, the DOJ has not received any request for extradition from the US DOJ (US Department of Justice) nor from the US State Department thru the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs),” Guevarra said.
He said that “no sex trafficking charges have been filed or are pending in the Philippines against Pastor Apollo Quiboloy involving the same factual circumstances as those in the recent US indictment.”
“A complaint for rape, however, was filed against him last year in Davao City, but the same was dismissed. That dismissal is now on appeal with the DOJ,” he said.
The US DOJ in its official website said that Quiboloy and two co-defendants -- Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Felina Salinas -- have been “charged in count one of the superseding indictment, which alleges the sex trafficking conspiracy” and each “charged in at least three of five substantive counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.”
“These three defendants allegedly recruited females ranging from approximately 12 to 25 years of age to work as personal assistants, or ‘pastorals,’ for Quiboloy. The indictment states that the victims prepared Quiboloy’s meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called ‘night duty.’ The indictment specifically mentions five female victims, three of whom were minors when the alleged sex trafficking began,” the US DOJ said.
“The indictment alleges the sex trafficking scheme started no later than 2002 and continued to at least 2018, during which time Quiboloy and his top administrators caused the victims to engage in commercial sex acts by ordering female victims, including the minor victims, to have sex with defendant Quiboloy on a schedule determined by the church leader and others, including Dandan. The victims who were obedient were rewarded with ‘good food, luxurious hotel rooms, trips to tourist spots, and yearly cash payments that were based on performance’ – which were paid for with money solicited by KOJC workers in the United States, according to the indictment,” it added.
The US DOJ further revealed: “As part of the alleged scheme, the three defendants told female victims who expressed hesitation at night duty ‘that they had the devil in them and risked eternal damnation.’ Furthermore, Quiboloy would threaten and physically abuse victims who attempted to leave KOJC or were not available to perform night duty, according to the indictment, which also alleges Quiboloy would physically abuse victims for communicating with other men or engaging in other behavior that upset him because he considered such conduct adultery and a sin.”
“Victims who managed to escape KOJC suffered retaliation in the form of threats, harassment and allegations of criminal misconduct, according to the indictment. Defendant Quiboloy would give sermons, broadcast to KOJC members around the world, in which he would allege that victims who escaped had engaged in criminal conduct and sexually promiscuous activity, and therefore faced eternal damnation, in order to discourage other victims from leaving, retaliate against and discredit the victims, and conceal the sexual activity between defendant Quiboloy and the victims,” the US DOJ said quoting from the indictment.