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MANILA, Philippines — A senator has called on the Department of Justice to issue an immigration lookout bulletin for controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy amid a pending Senate probe into child abuse allegations against him and his religious group.
After filing a Senate resolution calling to investigate Quiboloy and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said that the justice department must prevent him from leaving the country and “(escaping) accountability.”
“I urge the Department of Justice to issue an immigration lookout bulletin order, which they can do motu proprio, to prevent Quiboloy from leaving the country,” Hontiveros said in a press conference.
The senator added that Quiboloy’s alleged crimes are “global in breadth” because of his wanted status in the United States.
The DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should also “work with their counterparts in the US … to make sure Quiboloy does not escape the hand of justice if the allegations against him are true,” Hontiveros said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Without elaborating, Hontiveros added that there are already pending charges of rape, child abuse and trafficking lodged against Quiboloy with the DOJ that are currently for appeal. These were filed December 2019, the senator said.
Hontiveros said the findings from the possible Senate investigation into Quiboloy could determine whether the accusations of “victim-survivors’” can be used as evidence for a formal complaint against him.
“If it is proven from our hearing and from the findings and recommendations of the committee report that he really committed the offenses against the victim-survivors off the top of my head… And if he can testify during our hearing, that will serve as part of the foundation to prosecute him,” the senator said.
Hontiveros added that the Senate committee cannot force witnesses to attend the hearing but senators retain the power to compel resource speakers like Quiboloy to show up.
While the senator said she is keeping an eye on Quiboloy’s pending case abroad, she said that a domestic investigation remains the priority for now.
“Let’s take care of the one here in our backyard first. And because overall, if the process of truth and justice is progressing here in the Philippines, it will probably also help the process in other countries,” Hontiveros added.
Philstar.com has reached out to DOJ for comment and will update this story with their response.
Quiboloy, who was indicted by a California court in 2021 for allegedly conspiring to engage in sex trafficking, has an active arrest warrant in the US issued Nov. 10, 2021, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s website.
The US Department of Treasury in 2022 blocked Quiboloy’s assets over what it described as “serious human rights abuses” committed by the preacher.
“For more than a decade, Apollo Carreon Quiboloy engaged in serious human rights abuse, including a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape of girls as young as 11 years old, as well as other physical abuse,” the US Treasury said. — Cristina Chi
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