Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy (right) during his arrest (Benhur Abalos’ Facebook page)

Davao De Oro 1st district Rep. Maria Carmen “Maricar” Zamora, once a staunch ally of Vice President Sara Duterte, expressed gratitude to authorities for the arrest of embattled religious leader Apollo Quiboloy.

“The long arm of the law finally caught up with him,” Zamora said in a statement on Tuesday, Sep. 10.

“At least now he can defend himself from all the charges hurled against him,” added Zamora, a vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations.

Zamora is a former member of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), the regional party headed by Duterte.

The Vice President is a close friend to Quiboloy, who is wanted on charges of child abuse and human trafficking.

On Sunday, the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” was finally captured by members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) inside the sprawling compound of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in Davao City.

This detail is seen as contradictory to Vice President Duterte’s earlier statement that Quiboloy has already left the compound. At one point, she even joked that the pastor may already be in “heaven”.

“Men of cloth like Pastor Quiboloy should be leading by example. As far as I’m concerned, his consistent refusal to respect authorities is one question his followers should doubt because it just defies logic,” said Zamora. 

The Davao de Oro solon noted that if Quiboloy was telling the truth on his supposed innocence from the charges filed against him, then “he should not be afraid of anybody”.

“Because it simply means God is in your side. It’s that simple,” she added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre stressed that “justice finally prevailed” following Quiboloy’s capture.

“He cannot hide forever. He should face his alleged victims so that justice may be served,” said Acidre.

The Visayas lawmaker also pointed out that if the KOJC leader was innocent then should face his cases in any forum “come hell or high water”.
 
“In the first place, pastor Quiboloy should not be hiding behind the so-called skirt of his loyal followers,” Acidre said.


“This is because anybody whose conscience is clean should, at the very least, be man enough to face his accusers. What is there to be afraid about? Most especially if he really believes he is being persecuted,” he continued.