A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the US on Sunday surrendered to authorities in his religious complex in the south and was flown to Manila where he was put in police detention, officials said.
Apollo Quiboloy and four other coaccused surrendered in the vast religious headquarters of their group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in Davao after police gave a 24-hour ultimatum for them to give up, police said.
Philippine Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Benhur Abalos earlier said that Quiboloy was caught by authorities.
Photo: AFP
Quiboloy and his coaccused were flown on a Philippine Air Force C-130 plane to the capital on Sunday night and locked up in a heavily guarded detention center at the national police headquarters, where their mugshots and fingerprints were taken, police spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said at a news conference.
“The Philippine National Police gave an ultimatum for them to surrender, otherwise we would raid a particular building, where we’ve been barred from entering,” Fajardo said, adding that the warning led to their peaceful surrender.
Quiboloy went into hiding earlier this year after a Philippine court ordered his arrest and several others on allegations of child and sexual abuse, and human trafficking, Fajarto said.
The Philippine Senate separately ordered Quiboloy’s arrest for refusing to appear in public committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr had urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities.
The preacher and his lawyer denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group.
US federal prosecutors in 2021 announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”
Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021.
It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS