The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality on Tuesday ordered the arrest of influential religious leader Apollo Quiboloy.

This after Quiboloy, who had earlier admitted to being in hiding due to alleged threats to his life, refused again to attend the Senate inquiry into the sexual and physical abuses allegedly committed by him and other members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God,” refused to face the accusations against him and his church despite the issuance of a subpoena by the upper chamber.

Senator Risa Hontiveros carried out her prior warning to Quiboloy following his persistent refusal to attend the Senate inquiry.

“Pursuant to Section 18 of the Rules of the Senate, as chair of the committee, with the concurrence of one member here with me, I cite in contempt Apollo Carreon Quiboloy for his refusal to be sworn or to testify before this investigation. This committee requests the Senate President to order his arrest so that he may be brought to testify,” Hontiveros said.

Before making the motion, the senator revealed that Quiboloy’s camp had sent a letter on 28 February to her and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.

The letter, signed by lawyer Melanio Balayan, sought to recall the subpoena issued to Quiboloy, arguing that it went against his client’s right against self-incrimination.

Balayan, in the letter, said Quiboloy’s presence at the Senate inquiry was “useless” as Hontiveros had “declared that the committee can come up with a report with or without the participation of Pastor Quiboloy.”

Minutes after the motion to cite Quiboloy in contempt was made, Senator Robin Padilla appeared before the Senate panel to oppose it.

“Please excuse me, but I object to the decision to cite Quiboloy in contempt, with all due respect,” Padilla said without citing his reasons for his objection.

The Senate panel’s resumption of its investigation into Quiboloy’s alleged crimes was met with a noisy demonstration by his supporters outside the Senate building.

Dressed in white shirts bearing the words “Justice for Pastor Apollo Quiboloy,” the protesters called for Hontiveros’s resignation.

While they were holding the protest, the Senate panel presented two more witnesses who testified on Quiboloy’s church’s alleged money-making schemes.

Dindo Macquiling, who worked as a toy company manager in Canada before joining Quiboloy’s Children’s Joy Foundation as executive director, narrated how the pastor used the organization to support his lavish lifestyle.

“Most of the children there were children of full-time miracle workers. So, it was not really intended to help the poor,” he said. “They were able to help a few individuals from poverty, but they were very few. They were claiming that thousands of children were being fed.”

He noted that the organization’s financial assistance from various institutions abroad was being used without proper documentation.

“All the money that we collected, what was happening, was being released without my knowledge,” he said.

“So, most of the funds, I could see it in their reports, was not really received by the children. That was the time I questioned it,” he said.

He said he resigned from the foundation in 2019. Months later, all his questions about the missing money collected by the foundation were answered.