The Department of Justice said Thursday it is still evaluating the United States’ request for the extradition of Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy and will not commit to a deadline for filing a petition in court.

Justice Undersecretary Ian Norman Dato said the DOJ received the extradition request on 7 August and that the review is ongoing.

“We received the request. If I recall, [on] 7 August, it is undergoing evaluation as to when the petition for extradition, if any, will be filed with the proper court,” Dato told reporters.

He said the department would not bind itself to a timetable, stressing that any petition filed must be able to withstand judicial scrutiny.

“The determinative factor of filing cases is that it has to be thorough enough that it could stand muster in court,” Dato said.

“The department is conscious of the fact that it should not be filing anything half-baked. So, it will not bind itself to a timeline, but it will ensure that whatever case or petition it will file in court will stand scrutiny by the judge,” he added.

“We do not subscribe to any timeline, but the process of evaluating the request has begun and is ongoing,” Dato said.

The US government sought Quiboloy’s extradition in August to face criminal charges in the United States.

Quiboloy, who is also facing criminal cases in the Philippines, has said through his lawyers that he would contest the extradition once a formal petition is filed before a Philippine court.

The US case stems from a 2021 federal indictment in California involving allegations of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking, sex trafficking of minors and visa fraud.