Updated on February 24 // 12:50AM
Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder Apollo Quiboloy was served a subpoena to appear before a Senate hearing to answer complaints related to human trafficking, labor violations, and sex-related offenses raised by former members of his church.
KOJC legal counsel Marie Dinah Tolentino Fuentes said she received a copy of the subpoena ad testificandum on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri signed the document while Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, and Family Relations issued the subpoena.
Senate rules provide that persons who defy its subpoena to attend the chamber’s legislative hearings can be cited for contempt and held in its detention facility.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged Quiboloy, who said in a recent video that he has gone into hiding for fear for his life, to attend the Senate hearing to explain his side.
Gatchalian told Quiboloy not to hide because it connotes “guilt.”
Lawmakers from the House of Representatives also issued a stern warning to Quiboloy to obey a congressional subpoena and appear before a hearing on March 12 regarding the potential revocation of his network’s franchise.
Quiboloy has repeatedly defied previous invitations to attend congressional inquiries on the franchise of Sunshine Media Network International (SMNI), which is under scrutiny for alleged franchise violations, including spreading fake news and red-tagging
Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales, Jr. said Quiboloy has an obligation to comply with the subpoena.
“No one is above the law,” Gonzales said, adding that failing to do so could result in contempt charges and potential arrest. “We remind Pastor Quiboloy that he must comply with the subpoena, or we will have no choice but to hold him in contempt and proceed with his arrest,” Gonzales said.
The FBI also has an active warrant of arrest against Quiboloy and his two associates–Teresita Dandan and Helen Panilag–who are currently wanted in the US over various cases.
The United States Embassy in the Philippines earlier expressed confidence that Quiboloy will “face justice for his heinous crimes.”
“For more than a decade, Apollo Quiboloy engaged in serious humanrights abuses, including a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape of girls as young as 11 years old, and is currently on the FBI’s Most Wanted List,” US embassy spokesman Kanishka Gangopadhyay said.
“We are confident that Quiboloy will face justice for his heinous crimes,” he added.
A Los Angeles court has rescheduled hearings for the cases of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, sex trafficking of children, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling against Quiboloy and his associates. The proceedings are supposed to begin on March 19, 2024.