Quiboloy, 2 associates on FBI most wanted list
Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, self-proclaimed “anointed Son of God” and founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) sect, has been placed on the most wanted list of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with two of his followers, for various offenses including trafficking of children for sex.
The FBI on Friday released wanted posters for Quiboloy, Teresita Dandan and Helen Panilag in relation to human trafficking and other charges filed against them before a US federal court.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said US authorities have yet to communicate with Philippine officials regarding the possible extradition of Quiboloy, a close friend and spiritual adviser of President Duterte.
“Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, the founder of a Philippinesbased church, is wanted for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders,” the wanted poster for the religious leader said.
“Members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the United States year-round,” it added.
In addition to labor trafficking, the FBI said Quiboloy
– who also called himself the “owner of the universe” – was indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling.
“It is alleged that females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or ‘pastorals,’ for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called ‘night duty,’” it added.
Dandan, meanwhile, is wanted for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy and promotional money laundering.
She is alleged to have played a central role in recruiting female victims, including minors, to work as “pastorals” for Quiboloy.
“Dandan is the alleged ‘international administrator’ who was one of the top overseers of the church and the bogus charity operations in the United States,” the FBI added.
According to the FBI, Panilag is wanted for her alleged participation in the labor trafficking scheme that brought sect members to the US.
She is allegedly a one-time top sect administrator in the US “who oversaw the collection of financial data from church operations around the globe.”
The US federal court issued arrest warrants against the three in November 2021.
US prosecutors earlier said three others who were charged in superseding indictment against KOJC members were arrested by US authorities.
These include Felina Salinas, who allegedly was responsible for collecting and securing passports and other documents from sect workers in Hawaii; Bettina Padilla Roces, an administrator who allegedly handled financial matters; and Maria de Leon, who allegedly processed fraudulent marriages and immigration-related documents for KOJC workers.
Earlier arrests
Meanwhile, three others who were charged in an earlier indictment were arrested in February 2020. They were Guia Cabactulan, lead KOJC administrator in the US; Marissa Duenas, who allegedly handled fraudulent immigration documents for KOJC workers; and Amanda Estopare, allegedly in charge of tracking and reporting the money raised in the US to sect officials in the Philippines.
Some of those arrested were earlier reported to have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Quiboloy’s camp, meanwhile, has denied the allegations, with the pastor even claiming that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is a result of his prosecution in the US.
In a Viber message to reporters, Guevarra said the DOJ cannot act on its own on Quiboloy’s case, pending official communications from the US.
“We have not received any official communication from the US government. Extradition cannot be done motu propio, especially if the subject is our own citizen. Any communication will be coursed through diplomatic channels,” Guevarra said.
He explained that any extradition process should be governed by the Philippine-US extradition treaty wherein the US State Department makes the extradition request and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines checks its sufficiency.
The DFA in turn will make the necessary endorsements to the DOJ if it finds sufficient basis for an extradition request.
“We then file a petition for extradition with the proper RTC [Regional Trial Court] on behalf of the US government. The rest of our judicial process, including appeals, follows. In case the issuance of a warrant of arrest becomes necessary, the subject may post bail for his provisional liberty,” he said.
Asked if an extradition process could reach the Supreme Court (SC), Guevarra said without elaborating that there had been cases of extradition requests reaching the high court. But he clarified that extradition is supposed to be a summary proceeding.
Guevarra also said they would check if there is legal basis for issuing Hold Departure Order (HDO) or Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against Quiboloy “in the absence of any official request or communication from the side of the US government.”