Freeze order helps limit Quiboloy’s movements, DOJ explains

Televangelist Pastor Apollo Quiboloy PHOTO BY DENNIS JAY SANTOS / INQUIRER MINDANAO

MANILA, Philippines —  The freeze order issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) will help limit the movement of fugitive religious leader Apollo Quiboloy and keep the investigation’s integrity on his pending cases, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) official.

In an ambush interview on Thursday, DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV explained that freezing assets and bank accounts Quiboloy is a normal procedure to help law enforcement agencies conduct a “deeper and more thorough probe.”

READ: CA orders freeze on assets of Quiboloy, 9 others

“Itong pag-investigate kay Quiboloy ay isang lumalalim na investigation na ayaw natin maguluhan pa ng pag dissipate ng assets niya. At the end of this all, ang gusto kasi natin ay makita natin ang money trail dun sa mga illegal na ginagawa ng pastor,” Clavano said.

(This investigation of Quiboloy is a deepening investigation, and we do not want more confusion due to the dissipation of his assets. At the end of all this, what we want is for us to see the money trail from the illegal activities done by the pastor)

“Well, ang goal talaga natin dito ay ma-limit po yung actions or yung movement ni Pastor Quiboloy, especially in cases like this where we are faced with somebody with a lot of resources,” he added.

(Well, our real goal here is to limit the actions or the movement of Pastor Quiboloy, especially in cases like this where we are faced with somebody with a lot of resources.)

Clavano likewise said that the order is preliminary to the Office of the Solicitor General filing the civil forfeiture case against the religious leader before a regional trial court.

For his part, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla expressed his gratitude to the appellate board for its “bold move” against Quiboloy, who has been evading arrest.

“We hail the court’s bold action in freezing the properties and restraining the financial muscle of fugitive Quiboloy, who has been constantly mocking the justice system by evading arrest and our courts of law. This order demonstrates the CA’s firm resolve as a partner of the DOJ in upholding the rule of law,” he said in a separate statement.

In a 48-page resolution dated August 7, CA issued a freeze order against the bank accounts and properties of Quiboloy, religious sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC), Swara Sug Media Corporation (SSMC) or the Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc. (CJFI) and nine other individuals.

The order covers Quiboloy’s 10 bank accounts, seven real properties, five motor vehicles, and an aircraft.

Last April 3, a Davao Regional Trial Court issued arrest orders against Quiboloy and his five subordinates.

They are facing charges of violating Republic Act 7610, or the Anti-Child Abuse Law, specifically the provision on sexual abuse of minors and maltreatment.

Aside from this, a Pasig City court also issued a warrant for the arrest of the self-proclaimed “appointed son of God” for qualified human trafficking, a non-bailable offense, on April 11.

An arrest order for Quiboloy from the Senate panel on women headed by Senator Risa Hontiveros had also been released.