SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday told Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy to stop playing “victim” after the pastor posted an audio recording saying he has gone into hiding because the United States is allegedly out to “eliminate” him through “rendition.”
The pastor’s recording was uploaded on the same day that Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri signed a new subpoena compelling him to attend the March 5 hearing scheduled by Hontiveros’ Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, which is looking into allegations of various forms of abuse against the KJOC head made by former members of the religious group.
“Please cause the immediate service of this subpoena ad testificandum to the above-named person and thereafter make the proper return within two (2) days to the Senate,” said Zubiri in the subpoena directing the Office of the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms (OSAA) to serve the summons to Quiboloy.
The self-proclaimed “son of God” was absent during last Monday’s hearing and in the earlier hearings conducted by the Senate committee.
Quiboloy has previously said that he would “never” attend the upper chamber’s hearings.
Reacting to the pastor’s statements in the audio recording, which was posted on Facebook on Wednesday, Hontiveros said Quiboloy was apparently trying to justify his non-appearance during the past Senate hearings.
“Huwag pong ba-victim. Ang hinihingi lang sa inyo ay humarap sa mga legal na proseso, kasama ang proseso ng Senate investigation. Wag niyo pong dalhin sa lenggwahe ng patayan, kahit ‘yan ang nakasanayan niyo (Stop playing victim. What we are asking of you is to just face the legal processes, including the Senate investigation. Do not deceive us by saying that someone is after your head, even if you are accustomed to that),” Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros said she will cite Quiboloy in contempt if he still fails to appear in the next scheduled hearing. “Our next hearing is on March 5 and if Mr. Quiboloy does not show up, I will cite him in contempt and have him arrested,” she said.
The House of Representatives has also issued a subpoena against Quiboloy and threatened to cite him in contempt if he continues to snub its hearings on the proposal to revoke the franchise of the Sonshine Media Network Inc., which is owned by the religious leader.
‘IN HIDING’
In his 37-minute audio message, Quiboloy said he has been hiding “in our compound here” in Davao City after he allegedly learned from “reliable sources” that US government bodies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), are supposedly plotting to “eliminate” him through rendition in connection with the cases he is facing in the US.
“Ayaw na raw po nila ng extradition treaty. Ang kanila pong gagawin ng CIA, FBI, ng US Embassy, at State Department, kasabwat ng ating gobyerno ng Pangulong Marcos at ng First Lady at kung sino pa man ang nasa gobyerno, ako ay rendition ang kanilang gagawin (My sources told me they [US authorities] allegedly no longer want to extradite me. What the CIA, FBI, the US Embassy and US State Department, with the help of President Marcos Jr. and the First Lady and other officials, plan to do is rendition),” he said.
Rendition is defined as the forcible abduction of a suspect with an outstanding arrest warrant from another state.
“It’s not only rendition but also elimination. If it’s possible, puwede nila akong i-assassinate (they can also assassinate me),” he said, adding that authorities can purportedly barge into his compound any time and kidnap him if rendition is applied.
The pastor, citing unnamed sources, likewise made several allegations in his audio message, including the US supposedly offering a $2 million or P100 million bounty for his arrest, and an alleged plan to plant evidence against him.
Quiboloy, who is facing sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling cases, among others, in the US, said he and his lawyers prefer extradition and are in fact ready to deal with it.
In December 2023, a United States court set a new date for the trial for the criminal cases of Quiboloy to November 5, 2024. He is facing charges of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, coercion, and sex trafficking of children, marriage fraud, fraud and misuse of visas, bulk cash smuggling, promotional money laundering, and international promotional money laundering.
Also in his recording, Quiboloy said the women who have come out in the Senate hearings accusing him of sexual abuses are purportedly suffering from the “Potiphar’s wife syndrome,” referring to a passage in the Book of Genesis where Joseph, son of Jacob, is sold into slavery by his brothers and ends up in the household of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. In the story, Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of raping her after he refused her sexual advances, which landed Joseph in prison.
“Ako po ay hindi nag-asawa. Ngayon inaakusahan ako ng napakaraming babae. Eto po ang kasalanan ko. Pinayaman ako ng Panginoon. Akala nila sa akin, single ako, kaya pinag-aagawan ako. Pagkatapos na ako’y mag-hihinde, mapapahiya, ibabaliktad nila sa akin. ‘Yan ang tinatawag kong Potiphar’s wife syndrome (I never got married. Many women are now accusing me. This is my only sin — that God has made me rich. These women know that I am single and are fighting over me. They have turned the tables on me because I have rejected them. That is what I call the Ptophar’s wife syndrome),” he said.
Several former KOJC “pastorals” have testified before the Senate how they were supposedly forced to have sex with Quiboloy. At least one resource person said she was a minor when the abuse happened.
Quiboloy also denied the allegations that members of his religious group were forced to sell goods or even beg for money to raise money for the church. — With Wendell Vigilia
