Philippine president defends massive operation to arrest celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy

MANILA: Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday (Aug 27) defended the deployment of 2,000 police officers at the weekend to arrest an influential pastor accused of sex trafficking who is a long-time friend of the country’s former president.
Police think Apollo Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “owner of the universe” and “appointed son of god”, is hiding in a bunker at the sprawling compound owned by his church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), in the southern city of Davao.
Quiboloy is wanted on charges of child and sexual abuse and related allegations of human trafficking. He denies wrongdoing.
A mega-church leader and international evangelist, Apollo Quiboloy is a Filipino pastor who is wanted by Philippine authorities and the FBI for child abuse, sex trafficking and sexual abuse of minors.
Known to his followers as “the appointed son of god”, he founded his church – Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name – in September 1985.
According to his LinkedIn profile, the church started with a handful of members at the Davao Y Gym. It is now housed in a 30ha compound in Davao.
The church has more than 7 million followers and claims to have congregations in North America, South and Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
The 74-year-old pastor is also known for his friendship with former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. He was Duterte’s spiritual adviser while he was in office.
Quiboloy also founded Filipino broadcaster Sonshine Media Network International.
He claimed in 2019 to have stopped an earthquake that rocked North Cotabato and nearby provinces, several news outlets reported. 
In 2021, he warned people to stop “persecuting, prosecuting and maligning” him or suffer more from the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Philippine news outlet GMA News.
Marcos said Saturday’s police deployment aimed at ensuring the area around the church premises was safe and secure.
“And considering that this is a 30-hectare (74-acre) compound, you really need plenty of people, not just a dozen police,” Marcos told reporters.
His remarks follow criticism over the handling of the case by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. The pair, who used to be allies of Marcos but have become rivals, have accused police of rights violations and abuse of power.
“These acts are not only a blatant violation of constitutionally protected rights but a betrayal of the trust that we, Filipinos, place in the very institution sworn to protect and serve us,” Sara Duterte said in a statement.
Quiboloy’s followers blocked the gate of the compound to prevent hundreds of shield-carrying police from enforcing a court order to arrest the evangelist preacher, a police spokesperson said.
The police “have turned the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound into a garrison”, Israelito Torreon, Quiboloy’s lawyer, told ANC news channel on Tuesday.
Quiboloy is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, where church leaders hold heavy sway in politics.
Sara Duterte, whose recent exit from Marcos’ cabinet sealed the break-up of the alliance they forged in a 2022 election, said in her statement she regretted persuading members of Quiboloy’s church to vote for Marcos two years ago.
He figures on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list.
In 2021, nine Kingdom of Jesus Christ members, including Quiboloy, were named in a United States indictment that charged them with sex trafficking women and girls aged 12 to 25. 
According to the indictment, victims were recruited to prepare Quiboloy’s meals, give him massages and have sex with him. 
The victims were told that having sex with the pastor was “God’s will” and a “necessary demonstration of the pastoral’s commitment”, said the indictment.