Apollo Quiboloy
ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — Amid pressure from both the Senate and the House of Representatives for him to face their hearings, Apollo Quiboloy, a pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) based in Davao City, admitted being in hiding due to a supposed plot to have him killed.
In a 36-minute voice message uploaded on YouTube on Wednesday morning, Quiboloy accused the United States government of orchestrating an assassination plot against him.
Quiboloy said he could have called for a press conference, but had it put off “because my life is under threat that is why you won’t see my face, for now.”
It was the first time in weeks for the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” to speak to the public amid the congressional inquiries that had been seeking his presence.
READ: Senate inaction on request to subpoena Quiboloy puzzles Hontiveros …
The Senate had subpoenaed him to appear before the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, which is probing allegations of abuses he committed against women and children.
The House had also required his presence on March 12 before its Committee on Legislative Franchises which is investigating alleged violations by KJC-owned Sonshine Media Network Inc. of the terms of its franchise.
Throughout his message, Quiboloy never mentioned whether he was honoring the subpoenas, only describing these as processes that sought to “demonize me and destroy my reputation.”
During his statement, Quiboloy hinted that he was “in our compound here in Tamayong,” a rural village in Davao City.
READ: Hontiveros requests to subpoena Quiboloy
READ: Hontiveros sets January 2024 probe into Quiboloy’s Kingdom …
Quiboloy ranted that instead of having him arrested, US authorities had supposedly planned to “enter my compound and they will have me kidnapped … or they will have me murdered.”
He lamented that President Marcos had supposedly “connived” with the US to execute the kill plot against him.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation had put out ‘Wanted’ posters of Quiboloy in 2022 “for his 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.”
According to the FBI poster, Quibology had been facing various charges in the US, such as 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.