Marcos: No special treatment for Quiboloy

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Monday that there will be no special treatment for Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy following his arrest.

"We don’t know how, what special treatment is. So, we will treat him like any other arrested person and we’ll respect his rights, and we will go through the process," Marcos told reporters during an ambush interview.

He stated that the judicial process for Quiboloy's case "will be transparent" and assured that the pastor’s rights will be upheld.

"Everyone who is involved will be accountable. We will demonstrate, once again to the world, that our judicial system in the Philippines is active, is vibrant, and is working well," he noted.

Quiboloy's camp had earlier demanded a written assurance from Marcos and Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla that the U.S. would not interfere with his legal battles in the Philippines.

Marcos responded that fugitives cannot set conditions in exchange for surrendering.

“We are ordered by the court to enforce this order and that’s what we are going to do. And the putting of conditions is not an option for somebody who is actually a fugitive,” he added.

Captured, not surrendered

Marcos also expressed doubt that Quiboloy voluntarily surrendered to authorities, suggesting that the police had been actively pursuing him.

“The question that is being asked kagabi pa hanggang ngayon, 'Nag-surrender ba o nahuli? (Did he surrender or was he arrested)' I think that is a legal question. Pero ganito ang iniisip ko, hindi siya magsu — hindi siya lilitaw kung hindi namin hinabol nang husto (For me, he will not surface if the police have not been persistent in catching him),” Marcos said.

He elaborated, “Ang pagkaintidi ko ang pag-surrender, ‘pag sinabing surrender, I don’t know maybe the legalist can explain this, ngunit ang pagkaintindi ko, ang surrender kapag wanted ka, ang surrender pupunta ka sa police station o sa ewan ko, sa prosecutor, I don’t know kung saan (In my own understanding, when you say that you surrender—I don’t know maybe the legalist can explain this—as a wanted individual, to surrender you will go to the police station or maybe a prosecutor).”

On Sunday night, the Philippine National Police confirmed that Quiboloy had turned himself in to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) at around 5:30 PM, along with his co-accused: Jackelyn Roy, Ingrid Canada, Cresente Canada, and Sylvia Cemañes.

“To an official authority, sasabihin “nagsu-surrender na ako, alam ko may court order, may arrest order na ako, kaya’t magsu-surrender na ako.” Hindi ganyan ‘yung nangyari. Ang nangyari napilitan siyang lumabas dahil malapit na ang pulis sa kanya (To an official authority, saying “I am surrendering—the fact that I have already court order, arrest order so I will surrender. That did not happen. He was forced to come out because policemen were near him),” Marcos pointed out.

Military presence

According to Marcos, Quiboloy requested a military presence because he did not trust the police. The President said he agreed to Quiboloy's request and immediately directed the law enforcers to proceed with the operation.

Around 6:30 PM on Sunday, military aircraft transported Quiboloy and his co-accused out of Davao City. They landed at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at 8:30 PM, where they were immediately taken by the PNP’s coaster to a custodial facility in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

After being transferred to the PNP detention facility, rumors spread that Quiboloy was not at the KOJC compound when he surrendered.

Obstruction of Justice

In a separate press conference, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos dismissed these rumors, insisting that Quiboloy was hiding inside the KOJC compound in Davao City.

“Kwentong barbero lang po iyang mga ‘yan,” Abalos said. He further suggested that some individuals may be colluding to obstruct justice and prevent authorities from capturing Quiboloy.

“We should investigate this, and those guilty should be sued accordingly,” he added.

Following his arrest, KOJC legal counsel Atty. Israelito Torreon said Quiboloy decided to surrender to stop the “lawless violence” occurring at the group's compound in Davao City.

“Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy decided to surrender to the PNP/AFP because he does not want the lawless violence to continue to happen in the KOJC Compound,” Torreon said in a statement.

Torreon added that Quiboloy “could not bear to witness another moment of the suffering his flock was enduring.”

The lawyer mentioned that Quiboloy “was out of reach for a number of days” as he was waiting for “positive results” from legal remedies his lawyers had sought.

Commending PNP

Marcos commended the PNP and other concerned individuals and agencies following Quiboloy’s surrender.

“I have to commend our PNP. This is police work at its best. This is what the PNP can do ‘pag (if they are) led well and we have understanding and efficient coordination among agencies,” he said.

“It is really with some relief that I can say that at least this part, this phase of that operation is now over. And we now leave Mr. Quiboloy to the judiciary, to the judicial system,” he added.

Extradition request

Marcos noted that there is no formal request yet from the United States for Quiboloy’s extradition.

“The extradition request is not yet there. We have…what has been done is that we have implemented and enforced an arrest warrant that was issued by the court,” he noted.

“And therefore it is now between – it is now in the court’s hands, wala na sa executive ito. Kami sa executive ang ginawa lang namin in-implement lang namin, in-enforce lang namin ang order ng court (It's no longer within the executive, we just implement the order of the court),” he added.

Marcos also stressed that the local judicial process should be prioritized.

“For the moment, hindi extradition ang tinitignan natin—ang tinitignan natin ang mga complaint, mga kaso na ipinila dito sa Pilipinas, at yun muna ang kailangan nyang harapin (We are not looking for extradition—we’re looking at the complaints, the lined-up cases he is facing here in the Philippines, he will face them first),” he said.

Quiboloy has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud, coercion, sex trafficking of children, and money laundering.