Marcos: Quiboloy's conditions for surrender 'immaterial'

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has dismissed the conditions set by wanted sex trafficker Apollo Quiboloy for his surrender, emphasizing that the executive branch's role is simply to enforce the warrant for his arrest.

In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, September 4, the president said the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) founder should address the courts directly instead of naming the terms for his surrender, which are "immaterial." 

"It seems he [Quiboloy] doesn’t fully understand the process… once a court issues a warrant or an arrest warrant, it’s out of our hands. It’s in the courts’ hands," Marcos said in a mix of English and Filipino, according to a Presidential Communications Office news release.

The role of the executive department — which includes the Philippine National Police (PNP) — is simply to arrest Quiboloy, Marcos added. 

Israelito Torreon, the lawyer and spokesperson of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), said last week reiterated that Quiboloy will only submit himself to authorities if the president issues a “written declaration” that he would not be turned over to the United States for “extraordinary rendition."

But for the Department of Justice, the Philippine government has no choice but to comply with extradition requests as the Philippines and the US signed an extradition treaty in 1994. 

In 2021, Quiboloy and nine other KOJC members were indicted in the US for sex trafficking. The doomsday preacher has since been placed on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list. 

On Wednesday, the PNP's manhunt for Quiboloy and his co-accused at the 30-hectare KOJC compound in Davao City entered into its 12th day. 

The wanted sex trafficker counts among his defenders Vice President Sara Duterte and former President Rodrigo Duterte, both of whom have criticized the police operations as "excessive" and an "abuse of authority."