The request for a subpoena for Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy, who is at the center of sexual and physical abuse allegations, has yet to be approved, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Thursday.

In a news forum, Hontiveros said she had written Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on 6 February to seek his approval on her request to issue a Senate subpoena to Quiboloy.

“Like I mentioned earlier, the committee and I requested a subpoena. The request actually was only ministerial, for the signature of the Senate President,” she told reporters.

“Up to now it has not been signed. I cannot explain the reason behind it. It is best to ask the Senate President as to why it is still pending,” she said.

The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, which Hontiveros chairs, kicked off its probe last month into alleged crimes committed by the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, under the leadership of its founder, Quiboloy.

The investigation started without the presence of Quiboloy, who is at the center of alleged sexual and physical abuses linked to the KOJC, which he founded in 1985.

In her letter to Zubiri, Hontiveros requested that Quiboloy be subpoenaed to the committee’s next hearing.

“For the information of the Senate President, Mr. Quiboloy failed to honor the invitation of the committee to its hearing on 23 January 2024, and the Senate has, under your leadership and the leadership of past Senate Presidents, consistently issued subpoenas to resource persons who fail, without justifiable reason, to attend its inquiries,” Hontiveros said in the letter.

“To further update you, in the days and weeks after the hearing, my office is in receipt of credible evidence of threats to the lives of our first two witnesses and potential witnesses. I believe these efforts constitute obstruction of a legitimate Senate inquiry, and lend urgency to the call to subpoena Mr. Quiboloy,” Hontiveros added.

Zubiri had yet to comment on the issue at press time.

Hontiveros noted that the Senate investigation into the KOJC’s alleged crimes would continue with or without the participation of the church leader.

“With or without the subpoena, if he has nothing to hide, he should show up. He should have accepted our first invitation, especially since he is the leader of a kingdom, who is claiming a higher position or title,” she said.

Quiboloy, the spiritual adviser of former president Rodrigo Duterte, has claimed that he is the “Appointed Son of God.”

Hontiveros expressed confidence that the Senate panel’s committee report would not be affected by Quiboloy’s non-participation.

“I am not worried if Quiboloy will continue to delay or obstruct the investigation, in aid of legislation, in aid of justice, because even if he continues to reject our invitation to attend the hearing and answer all the accusations against them, we will still be able to come up with a committee report,” she said.