The prospect of sending Apollo Quiboloy to face charges in the United States moved measurably forward on Thursday night, Aug. 6, and two opposition lawmakers wasted little time urging the government not to stall.
Deputy Minority Leader Perci Cendaña of the Akbayan Party-list framed the request as overdue accountability, saying the case should be pushed through without hesitation. “Dapat madaliin ang proseso ng kanyang extradition at pag-bayaran na niya ang kanyang mga krimen. Yun lang ang tanging magbibigay ng katarungan at katahimikan sa kanyang mga biktima,” he said.
Cendaña pointed to what surfaced during the Senate’s inquiry into the KOJC founder as reason for urgency. “We saw and heard the testimonies during the Senate investigation regarding his crimes. His immense political influence and access to resources continues to be a threat to the lives of his victims even while he is detained in a Philippine prison,” he said. He added that the survivors — many of them women and girls — have waited long enough for a reckoning: “Panahon na para makamit ang katarungan ng mga biktimang babae at mga bata. Karumal-dumal ang kahayupang ginawa ni Apollo Quiboloy.”
The trigger for the lawmakers’ statements was the Department of Foreign Affairs’ confirmation on X that it had received Washington’s extradition request for the detained preacher and passed the matter to the Department of Justice in Manila for handling.
Senior Minority Leader Leila de Lima of the Mamamayang Liberal Party-list, welcoming the same confirmation, cautioned that the government cannot afford to drag its feet. She described the request as something victims far beyond Philippine borders have been anticipating. “Pinakahihintay ito hindi lang ng mga biktima nya dito sa Pilipinas, kundi pati ng marami pang biktima ng kanyang mga karumal-dumal na krimen — lalo na ang mga bata at kababaihan — sa ibang bansa,” she said.
De Lima expects the justice department to move on the paperwork it has likely been preparing. “We understand that the DOJ has already anticipated this, and we hope it will act swiftly to assess the request and immediately seek the President’s clearance, which is just a matter of procedure,” she said. She summed up the sentiment plainly: “This has been a long time coming. We hope that Apollo Quiboloy’s extradition to the US proceeds without delay.”
Quiboloy, the self-styled “Appointed Son of God,” is sought by American authorities on allegations of sex trafficking, bulk cash smuggling, and immigration fraud, with prosecutors there accusing him and his associates of exploiting congregants, including minors, over a period of years. At home, the former spiritual adviser to ex-president Rodrigo Duterte is answering separate human trafficking and child abuse complaints lodged by ex-members who say they were sexually exploited and coerced.
De Lima also raised a warning that cut past the procedural questions: even behind bars, she said, the KOJC leader retains the reach to keep “spreading fear” across the country.
