Senate to coordinate with PNP to arrest Quiboloy

The Senate is coordinating with the Philippine National Police to arrest Apollo Quiboloy, founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who is accused of rape and human trafficking.

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and Armed Forces of the Philippines retired Lt. Gen. Roberto T. Ancan emphasized this on Wednesday, as he stressed that Quiboloy could be arrested at any time.

Ancan made the remarks a day after the upper chamber officially issued the arrest order against Quiboloy for his persistent refusal to attend the Senate inquiry into his alleged crimes.

The contempt order, which was signed by Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri upon the request of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality chair Senator Risa Hontiveros, stated that Quiboloy must be “arrested and detained” at the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms.

The document said that the contempt order would be effective “until such time that he will appear and testify in the Committee, or otherwise purges himself of that contempt.”

Ancan also said that only legal counsels and immediate family members would be allowed to visit Quiboloy if he is successfully arrested.

Senator Robin Padilla, who earlier attempted to block the arrest order against Quiboloy but later failed, said that the religious leader may bring his case to the Supreme Court.

“My office has done everything in accordance with the rules and procedures of the Senate to protect the rights of Pastor Quiboloy. The committee chairman has decided, and Senate President Zubiri has taken action on issuing the warrant of arrest,” Padilla told reporters in a text message.

“The legal alternative action I can see for Pastor Quiboloy is to bring this matter to the Supreme Court,” he added.

For his part, Ferdinand Topacio, general legal counsel of Quiboloy, said that their camp will avail all legal remedies to protect their client from what he described as “hell-bent prosecution.”

"Pastor Quiboloy's legal team have done its level best to protect the Pastor and shield him from violations of his rights, but sadly, there are some powerful individuals who are hell-bent on persecuting him,” Topacio said in a statement.

"As we prepare to avail of all judicial remedies, we shall now henceforth refrain from specifically commenting on the aforementioned issues out of respect to the courts, and we enjoin the others concerned to exhibit some sense of common decency at long last by doing the same,” he added.

He continued: “We now place full reliance on the Judiciary as the final nation of the people's rights, confident that the rights of an innocent man such as Pastor Quiboloy will be vindicated, and his good name finally cleared.”

Aside from the standing arrest order issued by the House of Representatives on 15 March against Quiboloy, he was charged along with five others with qualified human trafficking under Section 4 (a) of Republic Act No. 9208.

According to Department of Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano, the charges were filed on Monday before the Pasig City Regional Trial Court.

Clavano added that separate charges for child abuse were filed in Davao City last week.