Philippine Pastor Apollo Quiboloy pleads not guilty to child abuse, trafficking charges

Philippine megachurch leader Apollo Quiboloy, who once claimed he could perform miracles including trips to heaven, wore a mask, helmet and bulletproof vest as he arrived at court Friday for his arraignment tied to child-sex allegations.

Reporters jostled to get a better view as police officers escorted Quiboloy into the courthouse in Metro Manila, where the spiritual adviser to ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pleaded not guilty to charges in a human trafficking case.

And in a subsequent video arraignment by a different court in a separate case, the 74-year-old pastor pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually abusing underage members of his Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church – a non-bailable offense. 

Minutes before his in-person arraignment at the court in Pasig city, Quiboloy told his supporters to be “steadfast, just be steadfast.”

Quiboloy is also wanted over similar allegations in the United States. KOJC, a Christian evangelist church, claims to have as many as 6 million followers in the Philippines, the U.S. and elsewhere.

“[Quiboloy] pleaded not guilty. He is innocent, that’s all. We don’t have a statement because the case is already with the court,” Quiboloy’s attorney, Israelito Torreon, told reporters outside the courtroom. 

Four of Quiboloy’s KOJC aides were also charged: Jackielyn Roy, Ingrid Canada, Cresente Canada and Sylvia Cemanes. 

The five were arrested on Sept. 8 at the church’s sprawling compound in southern Davao City, after a months-long manhunt.

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The pastor will remain in police custody pending a medical assessment by government doctors of his condition, according to a court order. His lawyer asked the court to allow Quiboloy to be transferred for detention at a hospital in Davao due to unspecified illnesses, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Meanwhile, Quiboloy’s four co-accused were to be transferred to a city jail in Metro Manila.

Attorneys representing the national police opposed the request of Quiboloy’s lawyer for a hospital arrest in his hometown, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

“If there is a need to really regularly monitor his health and medical condition, the PNP General Hospital is just a few meters away from the [custodial center where Quiboloy is detained],” the newspaper quoted PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo as saying.

The politician and the preacher 

Quiboloy, who calls himself the “Appointed Son of God,” was once regarded as a politically influential figure in the Philippines. His close association with former Rodrigo Duterte, a longtime mayor of Davao City before he became president, later gave him more influence. 

Duterte often was a guest on Quiboloy’s television shows, which featured musical performances. The pastor’s private media channel, the Sonshine Media Network, became a national player during Duterte’s presidency, offering full coverage of events and activities involving the politician. 

Last year, state regulators temporarily suspended two television programs on the network where the former president allegedly issued an on-air death threat against an opposition congresswoman.

Duterte had acknowledged knowing Quiboloy for the past three decades, and that, before being elected president in 2016, he had received expensive gifts from the pastor, including cars. The former president also said that Quiboloy once gifted him and his children with houses, although he claimed he never asked or accepted them. 

Duterte currently serves as the administrator of Quiboloy’s assets, according to the pastor’s lawyer.

In November of 2021, a U.S. grand jury charged Quiboloy on suspicion of orchestrating a sex-trafficking operation that allegedly coerced girls as young as 12 to have sex with him or risk “eternal damnation,” federal prosecutors said. 

Under the charges brought against him by U.S. federal authorities, Quiboloy faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of sex trafficking, and five to 20 years if convicted of fraud and money laundering. 

However, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Quiboloy must face charges of sexual child abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines before he could be extradited to the United States.

Mark Navales in Davao City, southern Philippines contributed to this report.

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