A PASIG City Court issued on Thursday, April 11, 2024, an arrest warrant against Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) founder and leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy for qualified human trafficking.
The court also ordered the arrest of Jackielyn Roy, Sylvia Cemañes, Cresente, Paulene, and Ingrid Canada along with Quiboloy for the violation of Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
No bail was recommended.
"After consideration of the arguments brought forth by the parties, the court finds the Motion to Defer/Suspend Proceedings and Hold in Abeyance Issuance of Warrant of Arrest to be a prohibited motion and should therefore be DENIED,” the order read.
“Clearly, from the foregoing, there is no basis for this court to suspend the proceedings by reason of the filing of a motion for reconsideration on the Resolution of the petition for review before the Department of Justice as this is not one of the grounds stated under Section 11, Rule 116 of the Rules on Criminal Procedure,” it added.
On April 1, the Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 12 ordered the arrest of Quiboloy and the five others for violation of Section 10(a) or other acts of child abuse under Republic Act (RA) 7610, or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”
Quiboloy was also ordered arrested for the violation of Section 5(b) or sexual abuse also under RA 7610.
Prosecutors said the bail was set at P180,000 for sexual assault and P80,000 for maltreatment.
Quiboloy’s co-accused have surrendered to the police and paid the bail for their temporary freedom.
The sect leader, however, is yet to be found as authorities, particularly members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), failed to find him in any of his properties, especially in Davao.
Quiboloy earlier said he will not let anyone catch him alive as he demanded from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue a written assurance that he will not let the US government meddle with his legal battles in the country before he would surface and face the charges against him. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
