Quiboloy, accusers face off at Senate hearing

- Advertisement -

FORMER members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) religious group yesterday bared their real identities as they faced-off with pastor Apollo Quiboloy during the continuation of the hearing of the Senate Committee on Women on the alleged abuses committed by the televangelist.

The alleged Quiboloy victims – Yulya Tartova Voronina (alias Sofia), Eduard Ablaza Masayon (alias Jackson), and and Jo-ar Martinet Olimba (alias Jerome) -appeared at the hearing sans their face masks and sunglasses, which hid their faces during the previous hearings. Tartova appeared virtually through video conferencing.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, committee chairperson, said the three victims previously appeared on the Senate panel’s previous hearings but had their faces concealed due to security concerns.

- Advertisement -

The three victims faced Quiboloy, who attended the hearing for the first time despite repeated invitations from the Senate.

Quiboloy, Jackielyn Wong Roy, Cresente Chavez Canada alias Enteng, Ingrid Chavez Canada, Paulene Chavez Canada and Sylvia Calleja Cemanes were brought by the police to the Senate from the Pasig jail, where they are being detained for a non-bailable qualified trafficking case.

They are also facing child abuse charges before a Quezon City trial court.

The Senate had earlier ordered Quiboloy’s arrest after he refused to participate in its probe.

The pastor and his co-accused surrendered to authorities last September 8 after hiding for several months to evade the arrest warrants issued by the Pasig and Quezon city courts.

ACCUSERS

Teresita Valdueza, 61, told senators she became a KOJC member in 1980 when she was only 17 years old. She said Quiboloy allegedly asked her to “offer” her body to him “in fulfillment of God’s revelation” and started to sexually abuse her in 1993.

Valdueza said she obliged, thinking that Quiboloy was really the “son of God.”

“From the moment I dedicated my life to the ministry until 1993, I experienced profound spiritual awakenings. I felt forgiven, my love for God deepened and I was proud to serve alongside a man I believed to be holy,” she said.

She said the sexual abuse started when they were in Cebu where she supposedly shared a hotel suite room with the pastor after their activity in the province.

“When we were alone, I asked if I could sleep on the sofa, as it was a suite room. Instead, he insisted that I would sleep beside him and even said (in the Visayan dialect) that ‘we are compatible because our outfits were the same colors.’ I was wearing red pajamas with white dots, while he was dressed in a red t-shirt and white pajamas coincidentally,” she narrated.

She said Quiboloy’s words “made me feel uneasy and quite nervous and I saw a different personality in him,” but she said she quickly dismiss her feeling since she had seen other women “slept in his room alternately.”

Valdueza said she complied with Quiboloy’s request since they were conditioned to suppress any negative thoughts about him as “it would reflect our own personality.”

“He then said, ‘This is in fulfillment of God’s revelation.’ He explained that God had revealed to him that I was to partake in God’s life through him by surrendering my body, soul, and spirit. He also mentioned that other girls would go through him in a similar manner,” she added.

She said the sexual advances were repeated several times.

Valdueza said she was also tasked to head a caroling/choir team composed mainly of children from their members in Mindanao and Visayas and were obliged to raise P10 million to P15 million every December to raise funds for the church. She said the children who were part of the teams skipped classes to join the fund-raising activity.

She said no one dared to question where the money went.

“Naghirap ang maraming workers at members sa pag-caroling at pag-solicit sa bawat tao sa lahat ng dako sa ating bansa. May namatay, may naaksidente, may nakulong, may mga na-rape na hindi na nai-report dahil baka hindi paniwalaan (Many workers and members suffered during our carolings and when we solicited from people whom we approached from all parts of the country. There were those who died, who figured in accidents, there were some who were jailed, others were raped but did not have the chance to report them for fear that they will not be believed),” she also said.

- Advertisement -spot_img

After the December fund-raising activities, Valdueza said KOJC members were supposedly tasked to sell rice delicacies during the month of January for the “Alay kay Kristo” (Christ offering), love offerings, and television pledges, among others.

She said KOJC members were again ordered to beg money from February to October.

Valdueza alleged “only a little portion of the income was shared to the beneficiaries.”

Valdueza also said she was subjected to “dry fasting” in the late 1998 to early 1999 as a form of “spiritual discipline” but said she believed it was a form of punishment as “we would always consider it as a sanctification because we were always made to believe that we were sinners… so we had to go through fasting.”

She said when a member is on dry fasting, they were not allowed to drink water or eat food for the first 10 days. On the 11th day, she said they were made to take only “am” or the excess liquid formed from cooking rice porridge. She said they were only allowed to eat solid food on the 39th day.

She said she survived by drinking small amounts of water while taking a bath.

She said she could not bear the deceit and hardships while in the KOJC, so she decided to leave the ministry.

“On September 29, 1999, I decided to leave without asking for permission, determined to free myself from his control. Finally, I clearly understood that the man I believed to be chosen and holy, was an impostor, oppressor, and deceiver. He manipulated me using his authority and power as God’s anointed,” Valdueza said.

On the other hand, Voronina, a Ukrainian whose first testimony was recorded with a blurred face and used the alias Sofa to hide her identity, shared her ordeal with Quiboloy via video conferencing, this time showing her full face.

Voronina, who joined the KOJC when she was 24 years old, alleged that she and other Ukrainian women who went to the KOJC compound in Davao City were alternately sexually abused by the pastor.

She said Quiboloy used Bible verses “as an instrument to convince us to do it (sexual contact)” with the help of Roy, one of the religious leader’s trusted aides.

Roy, who was present in the hearing, refused to comment on Voronina’s accusation as she invoked her right against self-incrimination, pointing out that cases have already been filed against her in court.

Voronina said Quiboloy had a key to the rooms where the women used and would supposedly enter them in the middle of the night for his sexual advances. She said that there were times when she noticed that other women would be brought to Quiboloy’s room.

She said they were made members of the “pastoral” or the KOJC’s inner circle.

“Nobody can deny that there is a Pastoral Ministry, even Mr. Quiboloy himself. And everybody knows that only girls and young beautiful women are included there. (We’re) all under the same rules. Our rooms are next to him, so he has free access to every room. Nobody knows his life behind these doors. There are no full-time workers who know what is happening there,” she said.

“He has keys to each room. Just in the middle of the night, he comes to my room and has sex with me. You cannot run away. You cannot say ‘I don’t want.’ You cannot run away because if you don’t obey him, you are told you will go to hell…Things like that,” she added.

She said she and her companions they yielded to Quiboloy’s wishes without even asking for anything in return.

“Actually, we try to avoid this kind of service. But because when you believe that he is the son of God and you will do whatever he wants us to do…But if you will try to deny, they will punish you,” Voronina said.

“They will punish us and call us, scold us for a meeting and put us in shame, saying that we are ungrateful because the pastor gives us everything and you just don’t want to sacrifice your body like Jesus Christ sacrificed,” she added.

She said she escaped from the KOJC as she could not bear the ordeal.

Col. Hansel Marantan, of the PNP CIDG, said that according to their investigations, a female member is first “groomed” by Quiboloy’s trusted members before they were presented to him to be sexually abused.

“Through his preaching with the inner pastorals, Quiboloy aimed to acquire 1,000 women anchored on the biblical story of Solomon, King of Israel, who had 700 wives and 300 concubines,” Marantan said.

He said the police believe that Quiboloy has sexually abused around 200 women, of whom 68 have been identified.

QUIBOLOY: SUE ME

Quiboloy denied all the allegations thrown at him by the former KOJC members.

“Wala pong katotohanan ‘yung kanilang mga sinabi. Kung meron po silang mga charges kriminal laban sa akin, malaya po silang mag-file ng kaso at doon ko haharapin at sasagutin sa tamang forum sa korte ng ating lupa, tulad ng kinakaharap namin ngayon (What they said are not true. If they have criminal complaints against me, they are free to file charges and I will answer them in the proper forum like what we are facing right now),” he said.

He said the testimonies of Valdueza and Voronina that they were repeatedly sexually abused were not true.

“Wala pong katotohanan yung kanilang sinasabi at sa aking paningin ay kabaliktaran. Nguni’t hinahamon ko po silang mag-file ng kaso sapagkat ito’y mga kriminal na alegasyon at ito ay parang maging fair ay mag-file sila ng kaso laban sa akin o kanino man nilang gustong mag-file laban sa mga Kingdom na leaders o members (There is no truth to what they are saying, and to my view, it is the opposite. I am daring them to just file cases because these are criminal allegations so it will be fair [to me]. File charges against me or anybody from the KOJC),” he said.

The pastor said he likewise did not give any instructions for his members, especially children, to beg on the streets.

“Wala po kaming mga polisiya na magpalimos ang bata. Hindi po, wala pong katotohanan yun (We don’t have a policy allowing children to beg on the streets. There is no truth to that),” he said, adding that adult members were likewise not asked to beg on the streets.

On Valdueza’s claim of “dry fasting,” Quiboloy said this is voluntary and is not meant as a punishment.

“Sa freedom of religion po natin, meron tayong separation of church and state. At tulad ng sinabi ko ang fasting ay voluntary kung tatanggapin mo, hindi ito pinipilit (We have separation of the church and state, and there is also freedom of religion. And like what I said, fasting is voluntary and we do not impose it on our members),” he said.

Quiboloy said he does not want to comment on the allegations of fixed marriages among members so they can become citizens of the country where are they based since it is one of the cases being investigated by US authorities.

He also refused to comment on the allegations of a certain Stephanie, who he reportedly adopted when she was only two years old but later allegedly turned into one of his sex objects.

He also said the so-called “Angels of Death,” his alleged private army, is non-existent and was just an “invention” of his detractors.

ANGELS OF DEATH

Lt. Col. Gene Licud, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Davao region (Region 11), said Angels of Death was the term used in referring to Quiboloy’s private army.

He said that based on affidavits of its former members, the group is supposedly used by the religious order to punish or even exterminate members who defy his orders.

He said most of the instructions given to the Angels of Death were relayed by Ingrid Canada and approved by Cresente Canada.

“Pastor Apollo Quiboloy… has used the term Angels of Death to threaten members who violate the doctrine, teachings, and Code of Secrecy of the KOJC. Thus, the Angels of Death was established in 1990,” Licud said.

He said Quiboloy hand-picked “trusted (KOJC) members” with military background and security training as members of the Angels of Death “which was later on utilized as (a) liquidation team to various KOJC locations nationwide.”

Licud said its members are armed and are supervised by Cresente and Ingrid Canada.

“These Angels of Death reportedly operate as a secretive, loyal group within the KOJC ministry capable of imposing harm on those who do not comply with Quiboloy’s wishes. The very name Angels of Death suggests a level of intimidation and power that goes beyond mere spiritual guidance,” he also said.

He added that group specifically either threatens or harms female members who do not give in anymore to Quiboloy’s sexual advances.

CASES

Marantan said the PNP is conducting a financial investigation on Quiboloy for possible money laundering cases, tax evasion, and is likewise an investigation on the legality of the operations of schools and businesses owned by the KOJC, and other foundations used by the ministry.

Deputy State Prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas said that the dismissal of the cases against KOJC human resource manager Marissa Duenas, who is based in the US, will not affect the complaints filed against Quiboloy in the Philippines, since she is not a co-accused in the cases pending in the country.

“It will not affect the cases pending before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City and Pasig because Miss Duenas is not one of the co-accused, neither is she one of the witnesses for the prosecution,” said Torrevilas.

The US government has dropped the cases of human trafficking, money laundering, and forced labor against Duenas after she entered a guilty plea in exchange for a reduced sentence.

The Department of Justice said prosecutors will use Duenas’ plea bargain agreement in the cases against the KOJC leader in the country.

In the US, Quiboloy is facing charges of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and sex trafficking of children, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling. He is also included in the US’ list of most wanted persons.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told the Senate panel that the Philippine government has not yet received a formal request from the US government for the extradition of Quiboloy.

“As you know, the Philippines has an extradition treaty with the United States of America. I wish to report that as of this date, the DFA has not received any formal extradition request,” Manalo said.

If the DFA receives a formal request for Quiboloy’s extradition, Manalo said the DFA will review the request and assess if it is in accordance with the procedure and will refer the matter to the DOJ for appropriate action.

He also said there are no Philippine foreign service posts in the US which has received requests for assistance from individuals who may have fallen prey to human trafficking in connection with Quiboloy’s cases.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: