There will be a "presumption of guilt" on the part of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy if he keeps on refusing to comply with committee hearing invitations from lawmakers, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon has insinuated.
Quiboloy to have 'presumption of guilt' if he keeps avoiding committee hearings, says lawyer-solon
Mar 5, 2024 08:06 AM
At a glance
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon (left), Pastor Apollo Quiboloy (MANILA BULLETIN)
There will be a "presumption of guilt" on the part of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy if he keeps on refusing to comply with lawmakers' summons for committee hearings.
This was the insinuation of Assistant Majority Leader Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon during a press conference at the House of Representatives Tuesday, March 5, the same day that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) Church leader no-showed a Senate hearing.
"If he will evade and keep on evading this committee invitations and therefore, most likely, meron naman tayong tinatawag na presumption of guilt (we have what we call presumption of guilt)," said the lawyer-solon.
"Dahil hindi nga natin malaman kung nasaan siya ngayon kung nasaan man siya. Ito po ay ginagawa niya para iwasan ano-ano mang imbestigasyon ng Kamara dito po sa mga issues na kanya pong kinakaharap," noted Bongalon.
(It's because we don't know his whereabouts. He is doing this to avoid the different investigations in Congress on the issues that he is facing.)
Both the House of Representatives and Senate have issued subpoenas against the controversial pastor.The House wants to hear Quiboloy's side on the issue of television network SMNI's alleged franchise violations, while the Senate wants answers from him. regarding allegations of human trafficking and abuses against women and children.
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The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros ordered Quiboloy's arrest on Tuesday after he failed to attend the scheduled hearing there.
On the other hand, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises chaired by Parañaque City 2nd district Rep. Gus Tambunting will hold its own hearing on March 12.
Bongalon says that while he doesn't want to pre-empt the action of the Tambunting panel, he believes that it will also issue an arrest order against Quiboloy if he continues to play hard to get.
"My own personal understanding and personal point of view, baka ganoon din ho ang posibleng mangyari (that could also possibly happen)," he told reporters.