More victims testify vs Quiboloy in Senate probe
FORMER members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KoJC) led by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, including two Ukrainians, testified that they had been victims of his sexual and child abuses.
The Senate Committee on Women and Children on Tuesday held its first public hearing on the reported large-scale human trafficking, rape, and child abuse within the KoJC. Quiboloy, who claimed to be the “appointed son of God,” was invited to the hearing but was a no-show. He sent a lawyer on his behalf.
Sen. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros, the women and children panel chairman, moved to subpoena Quiboloy after he snubbed the inquiry. She slammed his disregard for the Senate when he refused to attend the public hearing.
Hontiveros in December 2023 filed Resolution 844 asking the Senate to probe reports that women members called “pastorals” were allegedly coerced to do household chores for Quiboloy, perform sexual acts, and beg or solicit money from strangers.
The committee presented “Amanda” as one of the resource persons or witnesses who was a former “pastoral” member.
Amanda narrated how Quiboloy raped her when she was 16 years old.
“I had a very traumatic experience while at the KJC compound [in Davao City]. I haven’t recovered [from my ordeal] until now. I know that I was not the only minor who fell victim to Quiboloy’s sexual harassment,” Amanda said in Filipino.
“Jerome” testified that he and some boys were ordered to sell snacks in the streets. They were punished if they failed to sell a lot. They were “not allowed to fall in love, play computer games, and [were] forced to solicit money in jeepneys.”
Some women who were identified as Ukrainians and KoJC members fled the religious group following the alleged sexual abuses during their “night duty” with their former leader.
The Ukrainians testified against Quiboloy through video conferencing. One said she and her family started to attend the congregation in Ukraine in 2012. She said Quiboloy had told her that if she would become a pastoral, she “must sacrifice everything, including your body.”
“I was very innocent. I did not understand [what he meant]. Then he was trying to explain to me the meaning of that — you have to sacrifice body, you have to have sex with him,” she said.
“One time at night, he came to my room to have sex [with me]. I was crying. I said I don’t want [to do it]. He got mad at me. He
said, ‘You’re going to hell because of that,’” she added.
The other Ukrainian victim said that when she instructed to massage Quiboloy, “little by little, he turned to me, and he removed my clothes. I was very shocked.”
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2022 placed Quiboloy in its “wanted list” for alleged sex trafficking charges.
Quiboloy and two of his church members were indicted in November 2021 by a federal grand jury in a US district court in California for “conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.”
“An investigation in aid of legislation will also allow us to determine whether our updated human trafficking laws are able to cover large-scale and systematic acts of trafficking done under the cover of a religious organization,” Hontiveros said.
“Considering that the crimes were committed within the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines and considering that crimes are taking place even at present as Quiboloy remains free to run the operations of KoJC, it is imperative that an investigation be undertaken with dispatch,” she said.
She said that Quiboloy demands strict obedience from his followers through “brainwashing, psychological manipulation and constant threats of eternal damnation.”