Sara Duterte: Quiboloy being 'unfairly' targeted

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has publicly come to the defense of her father’s spiritual adviser Apollo Quiboloy, downplaying the sexual abuse and trafficking charges against him by describing the congressional probes into his actions as a form of “unfair” and “violent” targeting by accusers.

In a video statement posted on Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI)’s X (formerly Twitter) page Monday night, Duterte said that Quiboloy has been deprived of due process and has seemingly been handed a “guilty verdict” in the hearings conducted in Congress.

Duterte did not say it, but the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder is currently in hiding even as he has been compelled to testify in two separate hearings at the Senate and the House of Representatives concerning his and his church’s alleged offenses, with some of the gravest allegations involving his alleged rape and abuse of minors.

The Senate women and gender equality committee is conducting a probe into the alleged sexual abuses, trafficking and other offenses committed by Quiboloy and his church members, while the House legislative franchise committee is investigating the alleged franchise violations of SMNI, the media partner of the KOJC.

Both the House and the Senate have issued a subpoena against Quiboloy for his refusal to attend committee hearings. After Quiboloy’s failure to attend three Senate hearings, the Senate committee has since cited Quiboloy in contempt and sought his arrest, while the House committee has threatened to do the same unless he shows up to the panel’s hearing on Tuesday. 

While the House is not investigating Quiboloy's alleged crimes, House leaders have summoned him to face the committee to personally explain his role in establishing and running SMNI after his legal representatives claimed that he no longer has anything to do with the network.

Duterte’s remarks are the first public confirmation of her support for the wanted sex trafficker nearly a month after a former KOJC members testified during a hearing that Duterte received bags of guns from Quiboloy when she was still mayor of Davao City.

The vice president last month did not outright address the allegation, saying instead that the accusation is in step with the “attacks” and “defamatory statements” recently thrown her way.

Duterte believes that the legislative hearings currently being conducted on Quiboloy lack credibility. 

“During the hearings, it seems that Pastor Quiboloy has been given a guilty verdict, even though this hearing was based only on the allegations of witnesses who concealed their identity and could not prove their credibility,” she said in Filipino. 

Besides the hearing that she said are “going nowhere,” Duterte also took exception with the indefinite suspension ordered by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on SMNI, which she described as an issue of “media freedom.”  

“Incidents and allegations like this are no joke. Quiboloy deserves to be given a fair trial in the right court,” Duterte said.

“Justice and the truth cannot be achieved in trial by publicity, but by a day in court,” she added.

Last week, California Judge Terry Hatter Jr. in the United States ordered the unsealing of the arrest warrants against Quiboloy and his associates in connection to a wide range of offenses, including sex trafficking, fraud, abuse of minors and money laundering, among others.

The following day, former president Rodrigo Duterte was named the administrator of KOJC’s properties.