The legal defense of jailed Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy escalated on Thursday, September 10, 2026, as his lawyer moved to turn the tables on the officials who have publicly linked the preacher to abuse allegations. Attorney Ferdinand Topacio brought libel and cyberlibel complaints to the Pasig Prosecutor’s Office, naming Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Representatives Leila de Lima and Perci Cendaña as respondents.
At the heart of Topacio’s argument is a principle he says the three officials have ignored: that guilt must be proven in court before it can be asserted as fact. He maintained that Quiboloy is entitled to the presumption of innocence for as long as no conviction has been handed down, and cautioned that treating the accusations as settled truth is improper while the pastor’s cases are still being litigated.
The three lawmakers targeted by the complaints have each publicly tied Quiboloy to accusations of sexual abuse, child abuse, and human trafficking, according to a legal-team advisory reported by The Global Filipino Magazine. Hontiveros led the Senate inquiry that examined trafficking and abuse claims surrounding the pastor and his church, a proceeding in which people identifying themselves as victims came forward to confront him directly during an October 2024 hearing. De Lima has aligned herself with efforts to hold the preacher accountable.
Of the three, Cendaña has answered the threatened action most bluntly. The Akbayan representative rejected any suggestion he would soften his position, telling reporters: “I’d rather be libelous than be a sex trafficker. Thank God, I’m not any of them.” He tied his statements to what he said were the accounts of the pastor’s accusers and renewed his call for Quiboloy to be sent to the United States. Weighing the complaint against what the accusers reportedly endured, Cendaña dismissed it as minor and offered his own counsel to the pastor: “My advice to Quiboloy is for him to devote his time and energy to face his victims in a US court.”
This is not the first courtroom clash between Topacio and Hontiveros. A cyberlibel complaint the senator had earlier filed against the lawyer and several social media figures collapsed when the Department of Justice dismissed it, finding that actual malice — a required element in cyberlibel cases involving public officials — had not been established. That earlier dispute grew out of a viral video in which a former Senate witness recanted his testimony and claimed he had been pressured to implicate Quiboloy.
The pastor remains behind bars while his multiple cases proceed. Before Branch 159 of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court, he faces a qualified human trafficking charge that carries no option for bail. A separate set of charges covering sexual abuse of minors and maltreatment is pending in Quezon City, after the Supreme Court moved the matter out of Davao. His exposure extends abroad as well: a California federal grand jury indicted him in 2021 on charges that include sex trafficking of children, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling, and in July 2026 Washington formally asked Manila to hand him over for trial in the United States.
