After surrendering to authorities last weekend, the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Apollo Quiboloy, is pleading not guilty to charges of human trafficking and child sexual abuse after an intense two-week standoff with authorities in the Philippines.
The 74-year-old pastor, who refers to himself as the “anointed son of God,” told his followers during his arraignment on Friday to “stay strong, stay strong.” Furthermore, Quiboloy’s attorney, Israelito Torreon, maintained that “[Quiboloy] is innocent.”
However, Joahna Paula Domingo, a lawyer representing one of Quiboloy’s alleged victims, stated, “It is our firm belief that the truth regarding the alleged criminal acts of Apollo C. Quiboloy and his co-accused will ultimately be disclosed.”
Moreover, PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo told reporters that more alleged victims, some of whom were minors, came forward during the police raid accusing Quiboloy of abuse. “During the police operation at the KOJC compound, there were various individuals who approached the PNP, saying they were also victimized by Pastor Quiboloy,” Fajardo said.
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil praised the bravery of Quiboloy’s alleged victims for coming forward. “These courageous victims have spoken up, revealing their harrowing experiences. The abuse they endured shows an alarming pattern of manipulation and exploitation. These so-called ‘inner circle pastorals’ were particularly vulnerable, with victims as young as 12 years old,” he noted.
The Christian Tribune previously reported on Quiboloy’s surrender to police, where his lawyer claimed it was done because the pastor wanted to end the suffering of his followers. “This is to inform the Filipino People that Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy decided to surrender to the PNP/AFP because he does not want the lawless violence to continue to happen in the KOJC Compound and he could not bear to witness a second longer the sufferings that his flock was experiencing for many days,” Torreon said.
“Heart-wrenching and mind-boggling events transpired where a warrant of arrest has been turned into a license to convert his beloved KOJC Compound into a police garrison, the sacred KOJC Cathedral being desecrated, the JMC School turned into a mining pit, his followers as recipients of brutalities, one of whom even died, scores injured, many got arbitrarily arrested, vehicles unilaterally confiscated, all of which caused Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s heart to bleed,” Torreon added. “Hence, even if he has the right to await the result of the legal remedies being resorted to by his lawyers, he decided to make the ultimate sacrifice by surrendering himself to the PNP and AFP.”
the standoff between Quiboloy and police grew so intense that Philippine authorities claimed it would take more than 2,000 police officers to arrest the pastor. “It’s because PRO-11 (Davao unit) does not have enough resources in terms of human and material resources, considering this high-profile case involving the leader of a big church group. It really needs support from other units. The area is too big compared to Camp Crame, actually approximately 32 hectares, so the more than 2,000 personnel earlier deployed is, in fact, not enough,” Philippine National Police Director for Police Community Relations, Brig. Gen. Roderick Augustus Alba
Watch footage of the surrender below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.