Palace hands off FBI raid of Quiboloy’s church in US

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang respects the authority of the United States government to conduct a legitimate raid on the church of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Los Angeles.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday morning (Manila time) arrested three administrators of Quiboloy’s sect on allegation of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud.

“If the raid is legitimate then we cannot complain about that,” Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a press briefing.

“You must remember that if a crime is committed in any country, then the law of that country would have to be followed. We have to respect them. The way we ask them to respect ours,” he added.

President Duterte has been known to have close ties with Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “Son of God.” The pastor was among those who supported Duterte’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Quiboloy, was briefly held by US customs officials in February 2018 after $350,000 in cash and gun parts were found in his Philippine-bound private plane.

A former member of Quiboloy’s sect also accused him of raping her in 2014, an allegation the pastor’s camp has denied.