Senate summons Quiboloy

MANILA, Philippines — Controversial pastor Apollo Quiboloy was summoned by Sen. Risa Hontiveros to attend the next hearing after he snubbed yesterday’s Senate probe into the alleged sex trafficking ring in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate committee on women, family relations and gender equality, issued the subpoena on the pastor, who failed to attend despite being sent invitations by the panel.

Hontiveros presented two Ukrainian women, alias Sofia and Nina, and a Filipino woman alias Amanda, who all accused Quiboloy of forcing them to massage and give sexual services to him as an appointed “Son of God.”

“When Pastor Quiboloy called me, he was asking me if I will become a pastoral and he said that you must sacrifice everything, including your body,” Nina said in a video testimony sent to the committee.

Filipina victim survivor Amanda said the pastor forced himself on her after she did his massage.

They accused Quiboloy of groping and raping them and tagged a certain Jacqueline Roy of convincing them to have sex with the pastor as part of their spiritual journey.

Another former member of the religious domination, an alias Jerome, testified that he was forced to beg for money and sell sweets to raise money for Quiboloy’s church.

He also accused Quiboloy of physically abusing them and calling them “serpent’s seed” even if they commit minor infractions.

In her closing statement, Hontiveros dared Quiboloy to present himself before the committee and not hide behind religious freedom in order to evade accountability.

“You are not the son of God to be exempt from the authority of the state. Your failure to attend the hearing shows a lack of respect for the whole institution,” Hontiveros said in Filipino.

“This is not religious persecution. This is an investigation on the abuses inflicted on people under the guise of religious fervor,” she added.