Senate inaction on request to subpoena Quiboloy puzzles Hontiveros

Senate inaction on request to subpoena Quiboloy puzzles Hontiveros

Sen. Risa Hontiveros called on Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Thursday to approve her request to subpoena Apollo Quiboloy, founder and leader of the Davao City-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), who has repeatedly snubbed an ongoing hearing into allegations that he abused some of his followers.

During the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Hontiveros said she sent Zubiri a letter dated Feb. 6, asking him to approve the issuance of a subpoena against the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God.”

“As to why it hasn’t been signed until now, I really can’t explain it. You better ask the Senate President himself,” she told reporters, adding that those who testified against the religious leader in a previous hearing had received threats.

The senator’s committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality has been investigating Quiboloy and other KJOC leaders who are being accused of human trafficking, sexual and physical abuse, and child sexual exploitation.

“For the information of the Senate President, Mr. Quiboloy has failed to honor the invitation of the committee in its hearing on Jan. 23, 2024, and the Senate has, under your leadership and the leadership of past Senate Presidents, consistently issued subpoenas against resource persons who fail, without justifiable reason, to attend its inquiries,” Hontiveros said in her letter to Zubiri.

“To further update you, in the days and weeks after the hearing, my office is in receipt of credible evidence of threats on the lives of our first two witnesses and potential witnesses,” she added.

During the Jan. 23 hearing, three former members of Quiboloy’s religious sect, including two Ukrainian women, accused him of repeatedly raping them over several years.Addressing gaps in laws

According to Hontiveros, her committee remains committed to identifying gaps in existing laws that enable large-scale human trafficking and individuals

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