“David,” an alleged grandchild of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, is among the people who testified against the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC). (Screengrab from Senate YouTube channel)
MANILA, Philippines — An alleged grandchild of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy was among the people who testified against the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC).
Speaking live from a Philippine embassy abroad, “David” introduced himself before the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality as the grandson of Quiboloy.
The Senate panel was conducting its inquiry on the alleged offenses of Quiboloy and his KJC on Monday.
“Yes, ma’am, I’m his [Quiboloy’s] grandson,” David said in Filipino when asked by panel head, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, to confirm his testimony in a video played during the public hearing.
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He said his grandmother is a sister of the sect leader, and that Quiboloy knew of their relationship as they had already talked in person before.
“He knows, ma’am, that I am his grandchild because my name is the same as his sibling’s spouse,” David said.
In the video played before the question and answer part with Hontiveros, David said he was only 12 years old when he joined Quiboloy’s KJC. To raise funds for the church, David said he would sell candies and would sometimes join Christmas caroling.
Later on, he said he was given a full-time job at the church’s logistic department and assigned to a studio in Davao where he learned to become a cameraman at Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), which is reportedly owned by Quiboloy.
He claimed that his ordeal started when he was accused of having a girlfriend, which he said is prohibited by the church.
David said he wanted to leave his job but was jailed instead.
“Ang ginawa po nila, ‘yung mga gamit ko, iniligay nila ako sa bartolina. Noon nilagay nila ako sa bartolina, 14 po kami magkakasama, tinorture nila kami. Nilagyan kami nila ng sili sa mata, inuntog nila ‘yung ulo ko…” he said.
“What they did was they put my belongings, me in the cell. When they put me in the cell, there were 14 of us together, they tortured us. They put chili in our eyes. They banged my head,” he said.
READ: Senate issues subpoena against Apollo Quiboloy
Apollo Quiboloy
He turned emotional and apologized in between sobs.
“I’m sorry if I’m getting emotional because… It’s been 14 years, but I still remember the abuse they did to me. They put chili in my eyes. They put chili in my genitals. They put chili in my mouth. For almost 5 hours, I just screamed and screamed,” he continued.
All these, he alleged, were upon the orders of Quiboloy.
“He knows because he ordered it. What happened was, ma’am, in the early morning, around five o’clock, there was a hookup from America. It was live, his voice. He ordered for this to be done to us,” David said.
Asked if he himself heard Quiboloy giving the instructions to torture them, he said: “I heard it myself. Even my companions who were tortured heard it. We even thought it wouldn’t be done to us because who would do such a thing?”
Beg for alms
Another witness against Quiboloy was identified as “Rene,” a member of LGBTQIA+. He said he became part of KOJC in 2015.
Also upon Quiboloy’s alleged directive, Rene said he was asked to stop his studies and leave his family and dreams so he could focus on what the religious leader would ask him to do.
One of them is to beg for alms, he said.
“After my baptism, I was immediately assigned to my area — which meant daily begging on the streets, in restaurants, plazas, malls, and houses, with daily monetary goals or quotas that we needed to meet,” Rene said in Filipino.
“My goal was to earn P3,000 every day, and I pretended to be mute and deaf. If I couldn’t reach my goal, I would be hit and not given food,” he added.
During the “ber” months [that is, September to December), however, he had to work from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. because his quota was raised to a total of P1.5 million.
“I hardly had any rest or food. We also used fake charities to appear more pitiful,” Rene said who also became emotional as he recalled his ordeal.
He continued to beg for alms even if he was already hired as a researcher at SMNI.
Rene said he left KJC in 2021.
The Senate panel has subpoenaed Quiboloy to respond to all allegations against him and his church.