The Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking a second look at the rape case filed against pastor Apollo Quiboloy, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spiritual adviser, after his indictment Thursday for sex trafficking charges in the United States.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the rape case against Quiboloy, the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ the Name Above Every Name (KOJC) church, was dismissed.
“No sex trafficking charges have been filed or are pending in the Philippines against Quiboloy involving the same factual circumstances as those in the recent US indictments. A complaint for rape, however, was filed against him last year in Davao City but the same was dismissed. That dismissal is now on appeal with the DOJ,” Guevarra said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles is hoping for justice for alleged victims in the sex trafficking case involving Quiboloy, as they continue to monitor the indictment by a US federal grand jury.
Consul General Edgar Badajos said they are also prepared to assist Filipino DOJ…citizens involved in the case, whether alleged victims or accused, since it is under the jurisdiction of the US legal system.
"As to the members, we wish that things will turn out fine for everybody but most importantly for the alleged victims, that they be given justice in the laws of the United States," Badajos said.
"It is our responsibility to provide assistance to any of the accused and the victims who are still Filipinos to extend the necessary and appropriate consular assistance and none of them have contacted us yet, but we are ready to extend assistance as appropriate. Philippine nationals," he said.
In a 74-page document, federal prosecutors in the US charged Quiboloy for sex trafficking involving victims as young as 12 years old.
The victims, who were church members, were flown to the United States to solicit donations to a non-existent children’s charity, which was allegedly used to fund Quiboloy’s lavish lifestyle.
The indictment also alleged that the victims, called “pastorals,” were required to prepare Quiboy’s meals, clean his homes, give him massages and have sex with him during what was called the “night duty.”
Guevarra said the DOJ has yet to receive any communication from the US regarding Quiboloy’s indictment.
“As of this date, the DOJ has not received any request for extradition from the US DOJ, nor the US state department through the DFA,” he said.
Several of the defendants and alleged victims are based in Los Angeles. The neighborhood of Van Nuys is home to the church's North American headquarters, which was also raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last year amid immigration fraud charges.
Aside from the Van Nuys compound, The Kingdom of Jesus Christ did have at least one in Southern California, but it has since closed down because of the pandemic. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
A day after the indictment, the embattled church's General Counsel worldwide spoke out and denied the allegations.
"This is horrible, horrible things that they've said, and people only remember the words that they read. It is breaking his heart," lawyer Michael Green said.
"There are a lot of people that are so upset, who spent 20 or 30 years, decades, with this pastor and church, and are personally familiar with tens of thousands lives – children, their parents, their grandparents – who didn't have a roof over their head, clothing, and food. I have statements from them, declarations from all over the world, thanking him for what they did."
The Hawaii-based lawyer claims a faction of former church members, some who have been accused of embezzlement, have been making these claims in an effort to discredit the megachurch pastor.
Green also questions the timing of the superseding indictment, which expands on a January 2020 indictment alleging immigration fraud.
While it was not formally charged as a crime at the time, the FBI spoke about members being forced to solicit money for a bogus charity.
The US indictment accused nine church members and officials of the Philippine-based church of orchestrating a sex trafficking scheme, along with labor trafficking and immigration fraud charges.
The sex-trafficking operation allegedly threatened victims as young as 12 with "eternal damnation" and physical abuse if they refused to do "night duty" for the pastor.
Members have told ABS-CBN News that active church members are continuing to hold their services, while sources who know the alleged victims said they are under the care of anti-human trafficking programs.