8-4-2024 (MANILA) Apollo Quiboloy, a Filipino pastor wanted in the United States for child sex trafficking charges, has demanded assurances of no extradition in exchange for surrendering to authorities in the Philippines, where he faces separate allegations.
Quiboloy, who claims to be a “Son of God” and is a close ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church based in the Philippines.
The US Justice Department charged Quiboloy in 2021 with sex trafficking of girls and women aged 12 to 25, alleging they were coerced to work as personal assistants, known as “pastorals”, and were required to engage in sexual activities with him.
Recently, the Philippine justice department filed sexual abuse charges against Quiboloy, along with five other defendants, including charges of qualified human trafficking and child abuse.
Quiboloy, who has a warrant for his arrest, insisted on a written guarantee from the Philippine government that there would be no extradition or interference from American authorities if he surrendered to face charges in the Philippines.
In a voice clip posted on the YouTube channel of his church’s television network, Sonshine Media, Quiboloy stated, “Unless you give me the guarantee I’m looking for, you won’t see me. Go ahead and manhunt me.”
The pastor expressed his preference to face charges in the Philippines, asserting, “I’d rather die at the hands of the Filipinos, for my blood to spill here in my country, than to die at the hands of the American authorities who are overseas, in their country.”
Quiboloy’s church, headquartered in Davao, Duterte’s stronghold, saw its situation “complicated” after President Ferdinand Marcos assumed power in 2022, according to the fugitive pastor. He accused Marcos’s government of conspiring with the FBI and CIA to extradite him to the US.
If his conditions are met, Quiboloy pledged to “appear and deal with all those cases, no matter where you bring them, here in the Philippines.”
Quiboloy faced indictment in 2021 by US prosecutors, alleging coercion of girls and young women into sexual acts under threats of “eternal damnation”.
