Atty. Ferdinand Topacio on Thursday questioned the “suspect timing” of the reported United States request to extradite his client, detained Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy, calling the move an affront to Philippine sovereignty.

“We view with much trepidation the impending extradition of Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy to the United States,” Topacio said in a statement.

“The timing is suspect. It comes at a time when the present administration is deeply mired in serious controversies involving widespread anomalies in its flood control projects, insertions in the national budget and a humiliating fiasco in its attempt to neutralize the opposition by impeaching the Vice President,” he added.

Topacio argued that Quiboloy, who is already facing multiple criminal charges in Philippine courts, must not be turned over to a foreign government. “Such meek submission would cause deep and irreparable damage to our psyche as a people, and something that we will never be able to live down,” he said.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), however, clarified that it has not received any official extradition request. DOJ spokesman and Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano IV explained that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) would first have to transmit the request before it could be acted upon.

“In this case, DFA has not received any request. The DOJ could not have officially received the request as well. Verily, no extradition request on this has yet been transmitted to the DOJ,” Clavano said.

He further noted that even if a request were made, local cases must take precedence. “In general, a person cannot be extradited from the Philippines while a criminal case against him is still pending in our courts, since local jurisdiction takes priority,” Clavano explained.

Reports earlier quoted Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez as saying that US authorities had already submitted documents for Quiboloy’s extradition.

Quiboloy, 75, faces a US indictment filed in 2021 accusing him of sex trafficking of children, conspiracy, fraud, and bulk cash smuggling. He is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail on separate charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking, following his surrender to Philippine authorities in September 2024.

The Philippines and the US signed an extradition treaty in 1994, which requires requests to pass through diplomatic channels and excludes cases involving political or military offenses, capital crimes, or offenses already prosecuted locally.

Quiboloy, a long-time ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, built his religious empire from Davao City through the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.