Apollo Quiboloy in gov’t custody after long hunt

END OF SEARCH This photo which Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos posted on his Facebook page on Sunday evening shows Apollo Quiboloy (extreme right) and his lawyer Israelito Torreon (middle), accompanied by an unidentified man. Abalos merely said on his post that the fugitive televangelist “has been captured.”

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Authorities announced on Sunday that they finally have in their custody Apollo Quiboloy, the fugitive televangelist and Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) founder who is wanted for multiple criminal charges, including child abuse and human trafficking.

His capture ended a 16-day search mounted by the Philippine National Police beginning on Aug. 24 within the KJC’s 30-hectare compound in Buhangin District here to serve a warrant for his arrest.

“I was informed by the (Interior) Secretary (Benhur Abalos) that Mr. Quiboloy had already surrendered or was arrested,” Davao regional police chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, who led the search, told reporters.

READ: Quiboloy, 4 others surrendered after PNP’s 24-hour ultimatum

But Torre begged off from providing a detailed account of the circumstances that led to Quiboloy being taken into custody, saying only that Abalos had the information although the police official mentioned that the KJC leader was “fetched by a plane.”

Abalos earlier broke the news in a post on his Facebook page but did not provide any additional information.

“Nahuli na po si Apollo Quiboloy (Apollo Quiboloy has been captured),” he only said.

Before his announcement, Abalos posted a photo of the fugitive preacher with his lawyer, Israelito Torreon.

But according to Quiboloy’s legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, his client surrendered to the military, specifically the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“He was not arrested, especially not by the Philippine National Police under the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” Topacio said in a statement on Sunday night.

“Therefore, it is epal to the highest level for Sec[retary] Abalos to be seemingly taking credit for the nonexistent arrest,” Topacio said.

Plane to Manila

An Air Force C-130 landed here late Sunday afternoon and was parked at the Tactical Operations Group-11, on the other side of the runway across from Davao International Airport.

Torre said he was instructed to allow nine vehicles to leave the KOJC hangar, with escorts from the police’s Aviation Security Group.

A source told the Inquirer that the Air Force plane left for Manila at past 6 p.m. with Quiboloy and several others onboard.

Police Col. Jean Fajardo, the PNP spokesperson, said they have in their custody the KOJC leader and his four coaccused in the human trafficking charges, namely, Ingrid Canada, Cresente Canada, Jackielyn Roy, and Sylvia Cemañes.

A sixth suspect, Paulene Canada, was arrested in July in her residence here.

Sex crimes, trafficking

The search for Quiboloy started on June 10 after the Senate issued an arrest warrant against him for his repeated refusal to attend an inquiry into the sexual abuse and trafficking allegations made by former KOJC members against him and the sect.

The pastor, who calls himself the “appointed Son of God,” is also on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “most wanted” list on separate charges of sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling, although he has also denied wrongdoing.

On April 3, the Davao Regional Trial Court issued a warrant of arrest against Quiboloy and the others, for violating Republic Act No. 7610 or the anti-child abuse law, specifically the provision on sexual abuse of minors and maltreatment. The case has since been transferred to a Quezon City court.

Quiboloy and his coaccused are also facing a nonbailable qualified human trafficking charge before a Pasig City court. They were originally ordered arrested in April but the arrest warrant was reissued on Aug. 20 after the earlier warrant could not be served since the fugitives could not be found.

Gratitude

Despite several operations to find him, Quiboloy eluded arrest, a failure that was widely believed to be behind a revamp of the Davao regional police leadership.

When Torre took over in mid-June, he said the hunt for the KJC leader was not a priority although on Aug. 24, he led some 2,000 police officers in a search of the sect’s sprawling compound.

Despite strong opposition from KJC members and their lawyers, including Quiboloy’s political allies, among them former President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, the police remained in the compound.

Armed with life and motion detectors, and ground penetrating radars, Torre pointed to an “end of the world and Armageddon-type bunker” as the hiding place of Quiboloy and the four other fugitives.

He also ordered the boring of a tunnel to reach the bunker.

“We never doubted that he’s here. We were right all along,” Torre told reporters. With the 16-day police operation about to end, the police official expressed gratitude to Quiboloy for his decision to come out of hiding.

“I thank Pastor Quiboloy for the realization that this is the right thing to do, to face the law,” Torre said.

He added that he had already ordered a demobilization of the police troops inside the KJC compound. Police officers told the Inquirer they received the order at around 6:30 p.m., and they were ecstatic to return to their original posts in various parts of Mindanao.

‘Lechon, a band’

“It is a big relief. I will definitely have the opportunity now to catch up on sleep,” Torre said as he revealed that for the past two weeks, he slept only from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m.

“For tonight, I will treat my troops to lechon (roasted pig) and a band,” he added.

At the same time, Torre, who has been at the receiving end of criticisms from KJC members because of the search, offered a conciliatory gesture to them.

“Brothers and sisters in the KJC, I am sorry as I was only doing my job… I am also thankful to all of you. Let us help one another,” he said.

—WITH REPORTS FROM DEMPSEY REYES, JANE BAUTISTA, AND INQUIRER RESEARCH