In the know: Apollo Quiboloy

Apollo Quiboloy is a televangelist and founder of the homegrown Christian sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name based in Davao province.

Quiboloy founded the sect with 15 followers on Sept. 1, 1985, after leaving his old church, the United Pentecostal Church.

Today, Quiboloy claims the sect has 4 million followers in the Philippines and 2 million overseas.

Quiboloy, who claims to be the “appointed son of God,” and presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte are known to be close friends.

In 2014, during the early stages of the movement to push Duterte, the longtime mayor of Davao City, to run for President, Quiboloy said that 16 years ago he had a dream about Duterte becoming President.

In 2015, his 64th birthday celebration, Quiboloy urged Duterte in a speech to consider the “voice of the people” as the “voice of God” in deciding whether to run for President in 2016.

Quiboloy and 1,500 members of his sect held a rally at Quirino Grandstand in Manila in September 2015 to convince Duterte to run for President.

When Duterte launched his campaign, Quiboloy supported him by lending him his private plane and helicopter.

In April, Quiboloy threatened to lead a revolution should Duterte get cheated in the May 9 national elections.

At the height of the inquiries into Duterte’s alleged ill-gotten wealth, the mayor admitted receiving expensive gifts—including three lots in Davao City, a Nissan Safari and a Ford Expedition—from Quiboloy.

But he defended his decision to accept gifts from Quiboloy, saying the self-styled pastor never meddled in the business of the local government.

Quiboloy has been tagged in land-grabbing controversies in the past.

In 2008, Quiboloy was tagged as the brains behind the death of Bagobo Datu Dominador Diarog by the victim’s family and the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

Diarog’s wife was convinced that her husband was killed because he refused to sell two hectares of their property for P50,000 to followers of Quiboloy and his group.

Diarog’s property is adjacent to Pine Forest, 3 kilometers from Prayer Mountain, Quiboloy’s main residence.

Duterte ordered a thorough investigation of Diarog’s killing, but expressed doubts about Quiboloy’s involvement.

Speaking on television, Quiboloy branded the NPA allegation as baseless and only meant to malign the “Kingdom.” He also issued a denial in full-page advertisements in Davao City newspapers.

In February 2014, Quiboloy and his sect were again caught in a controversy involving land and some groups of indigenous peoples in Mindanao. According to the lumad victims, armed men forced villagers from their homes in Sitio Diolo, telling them their land had been sold to Quiboloy.

Sitio Diolo, made up of 20 lumad households, forms part of the 6,800-hectare ancestral domain claim of the Bagobo-Klata tribe that includes 10 lumad communities in Barangay Manuel Guianga.

Members of Quiboloy’s sect, however, denied their leader had anything to do with the land claim in the area, and said former lumad residents of Sitio Diolo had turned over their rights to Jesus Christ Workers and Members Cooperative, in exchange for cash or goods from the cooperative.

Quiboloy’s sect holds Bible sessions and prayer services on weekdays. On Sundays, a “global worship” is held at the sect’s cathedral in Buhangin district.

For funds, the sect tithes its followers.

Quiboloy also oversees Sonshine Media Network International, a television network based in Davao City. He also owns a string of radio stations and two newspapers.

Quiboloy also established the “Prayer Mountain and Paradise of the Garden of Eden” on the foothills of Mt. Apo in Davao.

The compound is surrounded by banana and pineapple plantations and is staffed by hundreds of workers. Armed guards secure the place.

Inside the compound is Quiboloy’s mansion. Beside it is the prayer house.

Nearby are pastel-colored “millennial houses,” which are occupied by workers. There are also two guest houses.

In 2000, Quiboloy founded Jose Maria College in Davao City, naming it after his parents.

Quiboloy was born on April 25, 1950, the youngest of the nine children of Jose Quiboloy and Maria Carreon, who migrated to Davao from Lubao, Pampanga province, in the 1940s. Inquirer Research

Source: Inquirer Archives