EDITORIAL - Facing the music

With the self-styled “son of God” now losing his seeming invincibility, more people are coming out, claiming to be victims of sexual abuse at the hands of pastor Apollo Quiboloy, leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The Philippine National Police said parents of the alleged victims, some as young as 12, claimed Quiboloy raped the women and girls, who served as KOJC “pastorals” or assistants.

The accusations are similar to the complaints brought against Quiboloy in the United States, where a federal grand jury in a California District Court indicted him 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.” A federal warrant was issued for his arrest on Nov. 10, 2021.

The “most wanted” poster of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation accuses Quiboloy of “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. 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.”

“Furthermore, 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,’ ” the FBI poster declared.

The US government has declined to comment on whether it would formally seek Quiboloy’s extradition  – a move that the pastor’s camp has vowed to oppose through legal processes. But Philippine officials have said there is still no such request, and judicial processes in the Philippines must take precedence before the pastor’s extradition.

Quiboloy has emerged from hiding and is reportedly prepared to face the charges against him. He could have done this earlier if his claim of innocence has basis, to clear his name ASAP, recover frozen assets of the KOJC and get on with his life.