Marcos to Quiboloy: Come out, face accusations against you

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. challenged Kingdom of Jesus Christ Founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy to come out and face the accusations hurled against him instead of merely hiding.

In a media interview on Wednesday, the President said that Quiboloy should just come forward instead of questioning the motives of private individuals offering P10 million bounty for his capture.

Marcos also slammed Quiboloy for seemingly always questioning the authorities who are just following the law. Hence, the Chief Executive is challenging him to abide by the law.

Earlier this week, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos revealed that a P10 million reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Quiboloy for allegedly violating Republic Act No. 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act, and Republic Act No. 9208, Qualified Human Trafficking.

Additionally, a P1 million reward is available for information that leads to the arrest of his co-accused. Abalos said the reward was raised by friends who wanted to help.

"(Quiboloy) can question their motives as much as they want. But he should come out," Marcos said.

"Let me question his motives. Why is he always questioning the authorities? We are just following the law. He should follow the law too. That's all,” Marcos added.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte's claim that he knows Quiboloy's location led the Philippine National Police (PNP) to contemplate filing an obstruction of justice complaint against him.

But former presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo argued that PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil lacked a sense of humor, clarifying that Duterte was just joking.

Last April, Marcos already slammed Quiboloy for setting conditions for his alleged surrender, saying that making demands is like "tail wagging the dog."

Despite his statement, Marcos assured that the proceedings against Quiboloy would be fair, emphasizing that Quiboloy should not be concerned about interference from the United States in his cases.

Quiboloy is also wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on sex trafficking charges.

A federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Central District of California indicted him for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling.

In 2022, the FBI issued “Wanted” posters for Quiboloy, who calls himself the "appointed son of God," along with two other members of his KOJC, Teresita Tolibas Dandan, and Helen Panilag.

The FBI stated that Quiboloy is "wanted for his alleged involvement in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States with fraudulently obtained visas, and forced them to solicit donations for a fake charity, with the donations actually funding church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders."