SENATOR Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has joined the call for the voluntary surrender of fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), who is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States and local courts for sex trafficking of children, bulk cash smuggling, human trafficking, and other heinous crimes.
“I am joining the call. I was a law enforcer before I became a lawmaker. I am always on the side of the law. Para matapos na ang paghihirap ng mga kababayan sa Davao,” Dela Rosa said on Friday, August 30, 2024.
The police general-turned-senator, however, maintained that the decision to surrender remains with Quiboloy alone.
“Still, it is his call, kung gusto niya o hindi… He has his reasons,” he added.
Multisectoral groups earlier urged the controversial pastor to come out and face his crimes for the welfare of the public.
“Quiboloy’s refusal to surrender is a blatant disregard and open defiance of our courts. Perhaps the self-appointed ‘Son of God’ sees himself as infallible and beyond the reach of our judicial system,” said activist lawyer Aaron Pedrosa, secretary-general of Sanlakas.
“What is unfortunate is KOJC members are treated as mere pawns to shield Quiboloy from prosecution, as dubious personalities capitalize on the occasion for their electoral and political ambitions,” added Pedrosa in an interview with Sunstar Philippines.
Authorities said the 74-year-old pastor has remained holed up at his 30-hectare compound in Davao City following an intensified police operation to locate his whereabouts.
Gabriela USA, a grassroots-based alliance of progressive Filipino women's organizations in the United States, welcomed the increased efforts to capture and hold Quiboloy accountable for his alleged crimes.
“Gabriela USA, alongside many others who have been outraged by his crimes, has been calling for his arrest for years. Regardless of the price on his head, we believe there should have been a serious and thorough investigation, trial, and arrest from the first day that his crimes were exposed,” said the US-based progressive Filipino women’s group.
“Based on the evidence that has been revealed regarding Quiboloy's crimes, both old and recent developments, he manipulates and intimidates his followers into protecting him and has been preparing for this day for a long time,” the group added.
On August 24, 2024, Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III, director of Police Regional Office 11, led more than 2,000 police officers to the KOJC compound to serve the warrant of arrest for Quiboloy and his aides. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)