House leaders support transfer of Quiboloy's case to Pasig

For impartiality and fair play, House leaders have backed the move of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) to transfer Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s cases from Davao City to Pasig City, where the non-bailable offense of qualified human trafficking against him is pending.

House Assistant Majority Leader Raul Angelo “Jill” Bongalon said the venue change is necessary to ensure neutrality in the entire course of the legal proceedings.

“Can you imagine, you will send the victims of harassments, human trafficking to Davao City, to the place where it happened… Out of fear, they might not be able to testify,” said Bongalon, a lawyer, during a press conference Thursday.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua made clear that moving legal proceedings to another court is not an unusual practice, especially when “the law thinks there will be a whitewash, or the person has influence in the area.”

In the same vein, shifting Quiboloy’s cases away from his home court would help insulate the case from any due interference and create an atmosphere of uncertainty within Davao City, according to Assistant Majority Leader Zia Adiong.

“A lot of us know how popular, how influential Pastor Quiboloy is in Davao. That is actually his main bailiwick,” Adiong said in the same press briefing.

“And for the court to decide fairly without any intervention whatever from other sectors who are supportive, even those who may have had opposition to Quiboloy [who] can also have that kind of interference, I think it’s just proper,” the lawmaker continued.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker David Suarez pressed the law enforcement agencies to hasten their search for Quiboloy, which has been the target of a manhunt operations for a couple of months now.

“First and foremost, he did not respect our government institutions. He also shows that he has no regard whatsoever when it comes to the laws that govern the Philippines,” Suarez told the media.

Quiboloy, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder, is facing charges of sexual abuse and child molestation before the Davao City Regional Trial Court).

The human trafficking case against him, on the other hand, was lodged before the Pasig City Regional Trial Court.

The fugitive preacher, who remains at large, faces a pool of arrest orders, including those issued by both the lower courts and the Senate, whose summons concerning its inquiry into the alleged abuses he defiantly snubs.

In late April, OCA asked the Supreme Court to transfer Quiboloy’s cases to Pasig City so that the same team of prosecutors could prosecute both cases jointly.

The recommendation was initially put forth by the Department of Justice.