'Wag pong pa-victim' : Quiboloy warned of arrest if he fails to show up in next Senate probe
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, February 21 warned Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy he would be arrested should he fails to attend in the next Senate inquiry into the alleged crimes committed by his religious organization.
Hontiveros made the remark in response to the latest video message of Quiboloy. The KOJC leader skipped the last two hearings of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality on the human trafficking, sexual abuses and forced labor allegations hurled against him and his group.
“Wag pong pa-victim.
Ang hinihingi lang sa inyo ay humarap sa mga legal na proseso, kasama ang proseso ng Senate investigation (Don't play victim. You are only being asked to face the legal process, including the process of a Senate investigation),” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“Wag niyo pong dalhin sa lenggwahe ng patayan, kahit yan ang nakasanayan niyo (Don’t use the language of killing, even if that is something you are used to do),” she pointed out.
“Our next hearing is on March 5 and if Mr. Quiboloy does not show up, I will cite him in contempt and have him arrested,” the senator stressed.
Against this backdrop, the Senate issued a new subpoena against Quiboloy compelling him to attend the next scheduled hearing. The document is signed by Hontiveros, chairperson of the committee on women and children’s panel, and by Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri.
Earlier, Quiboloy said he would not submit to the Senate’s investigation.
According to the religious leader, he would only face the allegations against him that are filed formally before the courts.
“I will not subject myself to injustices that are done in a cloak of a Senate hearing... I will not subject to any of that, but I will face any of you... I will face you anywhere, anytime in a court of law," Quiboloy had said.
“Just do it. If you cannot do that, you are all bogus, you are all false. You don't deserve my respect because you don't respect my personal rights. I will not also respect your office as a senator,” the KOJC leader said.