“I’m sure the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States) knows where Pastor Quiboloy is. I’m also sure that the FBI knows the proper legal procedure to enable the US justice system acquire jurisdiction over Pastor Quiboloy’s person.”
This was the reaction of Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on the release by the FBI of "wanted” posters of Quiboloy (Apollo C. Quiboloy who is the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) religious group) and two other church members.
In its website, the FBI said Quiboloy is wanted 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; Bulk Cash Smuggling.”
Also wanted by the FBI are Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Felina Salinas.
When asked if the US government has communicated with the Philippine government or has requested Quiboloy’s extradition so he can face trial before the US courts, Guevarra said:
“We have not received any official communication from the US government. Extradition cannot be done motu proprio (on one’s own initiative), especially if the subject is our own citizen. Any communication will be coursed through diplomatic channels.”
Explaining the extradition process, Guevarra said:
“The process is governed by the Phil-US extradition treaty. The US State Department makes the extradition request. Our DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) checks the sufficiency of the request; if sufficient, the DFA endorses it to the DOJ (Department of Justice).
“We (DOJ) then file a petition for extradition with the proper RTC (regional trial court) on behalf of the US government.
“The rest of our judicial process, including appeals, follows. In case the issuance of a warrant of arrest becomes necessary, the subject may post bail for his provisional liberty.
“Extradition is supposed to be a summary proceeding; we’re not supposed to be trying the US criminal charges here. But we have had cases where the process reached the Supreme Court, but were ultimately implemented.”
On the issuance of a preventive hold departure order or hold departure order or immigration lookout bulletin order against Quiboloy, Guevarra said:
“We’ll study the legal basis for such an action in the absence of any official request or communication from the US side.”
Among other things, the FBI said in its “wanted” posters:
“Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the founder of a Philippines-based church, is wanted for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders.
“Members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the United States year-round.
“... females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or ‘pastorals,’ for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called ‘night duty.’
The two other church officials who are also wanted by the FBI are Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Felina Salinas.
“Quiboloy was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, 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, and on November 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.”
In November last year, Guevarra said that the Philippine government will investigate Quiboloy should the evidence show that some acts other than those covered by his indictment in the United States have also been committed in the Philippines.
“If the evidence further shows that some acts other than those covered by the US indictment have been committed here, then that's a cue to conduct a separate domestic investigation,” he said.
“That is why we need to see the evidence in the hands of the US. No point in duplicating efforts if the offense and the victims are exactly the same in both jurisdictions,” he stressed.
In an earlier announcement by the US Department of Justice (US-DOJ), 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.”