DoJ wants Quiboloy case venue moved to Pasig

Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. PNA Photo

(UPDATE) THE Department of Justice (DoJ) has sought the transfer of the child abuse and maltreatment case filed against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KoJ) founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Davao City to Pasig City, where the controversial evangelist is facing qualified human trafficking.

Justice Undersecretary Nicolas Felix Ty said that they have already sent a letter to the court administrator formally requesting the transfer of the venue of the case.

“Let us wait for the decision. But I think that the court and the court administrator usually allow these kinds of requests,” Undersecretary Ty said over the weekend.

Quiboloy is facing charges under Section 5(b) of Republic Act 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act and under Section 10(a) of the same act before a Davao court.

Bail has been set at P180,000 for sexual assault and P80,000 for maltreatment.

Quiboloy, on the other hand, is facing a non-bailable offense of Qualified Human Trafficking under Section 4(a) of Republic Act 9208, as amended before a Pasig court.

On the other hand, the DoJ is processing the inclusion in the Witness Protection Program (WPP) of the complainant in the child abuse case involving Quiboloy.

Ty said the complainant fears for her safety.

Putting her under the WPP is important, he said, because she is the key witness.

“She said that she felt that there were threats against her life. That’s why she needs to be under WPP,” Ty said.

Both the Davao and Pasig courts have issued arrest warrants against Quiboloy and his co-respondents.

The religious leader, however, has eluded authorities and is said to be hiding in his vast compound in Tamayong, Davao City,

An Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) was issued against Pastor Quiboloy last February 27 as a measure to prevent him from fleeing the country.

Quiboloy is also wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that were supposedly used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders.

It was alleged that members who proved successful at soliciting for the church allegedly were forced to enter into sham marriages or obtain fraudulent student visas to continue soliciting in the United States year-round.

Furthermore, it is alleged that females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals,” for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages, and were required to have sex with him in what the pastorals called “night duty.”

Quiboloy was indicted by a federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana, California, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling, and on Nov. 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.