President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (File photo from Malacañang)
Updated @ 3:06 p.m., Monday, April 8, 2024
MANILA, Philippines — The condition that Apollo Quiboloy gives for his surrender is “tail wagging the dog,” President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Monday
With a warrant out for Quiboloy’s arrest, the self-proclaimed son of God said that he would surrender to authorities if the government could assure him that the United States would not interfere in his case.
“It seems to be a little bit tail wagging the dog. He’s the one giving the condition to the government about his case. He’s the accused with a warrant of arrest. So, I mean, we will exercise all the compassion to Pastor Quiboloy,” Marcos said. partly in Filipino in an ambush interview.
However, Marcos said the intervention of the US was still far off and the process might take years.
Quiboloy is in the Most Wanted list of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for human trafficking.
“That’s going to take years. So I don’t think that’s something he needs to worry about, quite frankly,” said Marcos.
In March, Sen. Risa Hontiverosm chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality Chair, pushed for the arrest order of Quiboloy for failing to show up in numerous hearings on his alleged sex crimes.
On top of the Senate order, trafficking, and sexual abuse charges have also been filed against Quiboloy in Davao and Pasig courts.
The embattled televangelist said, however, that he would not surrender unless the government swore that the US will not intervene, adding he would rather rather be killed by Filipinos than by Americans.
“It is better that I die in the hands of Filipinos in our country, that my blood drops here than I die in the hands of the Americans in another nation, in their country,” he said in Filipino.