DAY IN COURT Apollo Quiboloy, founder and politically influential leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) sect, arrives well-covered at the Pasig Regional Trial Court on Friday morning for his arraignment in one of the two criminal cases filed against him and five KOJC associates —LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines — From being a TV-savvy preacher who sought to project both earthly wealth and messianic glow, Apollo Quiboloy made his first court appearance on Friday looking like a mere mortal with a lot to hide.
The embattled televangelist arrived around 8:30 a.m. at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court wearing a helmet, a face mask, dark eyeglasses and a bullet-proof vest over his orange detainee’s shirt—and was allowed by police escorts to conceal his handcuffs with a bandana wrapped around his wrists.
He later pleaded not guilty to charges of qualified human trafficking, his counsel Israelito Torreon told reporters after the hourlong arraignment at the Pasig RTC Branch 156, which barred media coverage.
“Because he did nothing wrong, that’s that,” Torreon stressed as his client was whisked back to detention at Camp Crame.
Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) sect and spiritual adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte, was arraigned five days after he surrendered to authorities in Davao City, where the police earlier conducted a massive manhunt at the sprawling KJC compound.
Aside from the case in Pasig, he and five KJC associates—Sylvia Cemañes, Jackielyn Roy, Cresente, Paulene and Ingrid Canada—are charged with sexually abusing and maltreating a minor before the Quezon City RTC, where they also pleaded not guilty later on Friday.
READ: Quiboloy camp tries blocking jail transfer of 4 co-accused
‘Amanda’
Judge Rainelda Estacio Montesa of the Pasig RTC is hearing the case based on a complaint filed by one of Quiboloy’s former followers, who was given the alias “Amanda” in a press statement issued by her private lawyer after the arraignment.
“It is our firm belief that the truth regarding the alleged criminal acts of Apollo C. Quiboloy and his coaccused will ultimately be disclosed. It is worthy to note that these cases have been filed in 2019 and we have long been seeking justice for the complainant since then,” said Amanda’s lawyer, Joahna Domingo.
“Hence, any imputations that this case is politically motivated is clearly unfounded,” Domingo added.
Amanda’s complaint was originally filed in 2019 in the Davao City prosecutor office, where it was dismissed the following year. It was revived and filed in court in March this year after the Department of Justice granted her petition for review.
Last month, as the pastor eluded police operations to serve warrants for his arrest, the Court of Appeals (CA) issued a freeze order on the assets and properties of Quiboloy and KJC, including 10 bank accounts and seven pieces of real estate.
The Aug. 6 freeze order, a copy of which was seen by the Inquirer, contained some key details of Amanda’s case, including the accusation that he raped her on Sept. 1, 2014.
READ: Apollo Quiboloy’s ‘angels of death’ are armed men – police
‘Pastoral’ duties
According to the order, Amanda was 12 years old when she became one of the “pastorals,” or female personal assistants to the KCJ leader, whose tasks included soliciting money for the sect.
By the time she was 17, she had been “elevated” in rank as a “close-in pastoral” to Quiboloy, which entailed fulfilling domestic duties—from preparing his meals, giving him a massage, to going with him on trips. It was during this period that she was allegedly raped.
Amanda is also the complainant in the Quezon City case.
Torreon said Quiboloy and his coaccused also entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Noel Parel of QC RTC Branch 106.