The Department of Justice (DoJ) has maintained that it has not received any formal request from the United States for the extradition of religious leader Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, despite claims to the contrary by Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez.
Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Mico Clavano reiterated Thursday that an extradition request must first be lodged with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) before it could be endorsed to the DoJ.
“In this case, the DFA has not received any request. The DoJ could not have officially received the request as well,” Clavano said. “Verily, no extradition request on this has yet been transmitted to the DoJ.”
Romualdez earlier said US authorities had submitted documents seeking Quiboloy’s extradition as early as June. The clarification from the DoJ came as the controversial preacher faces multiple charges both in the Philippines and abroad.
In the US, a 2021 indictment accuses the 75-year-old Quiboloy of the sex trafficking of children, conspiracy, fraud, and bulk cash smuggling. He is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail on charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking after surrendering to Philippine authorities in September 2024.
Quiboloy has denied all the accusations, claiming he is a victim of political and religious persecution.
His lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, criticized what he described as the “suspect timing” of the extradition request and warned that granting it would be “a derogation of sovereignty” and an insult to the Philippines.
“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 the 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,” Topacio said.
He argued that Quiboloy should first face trial in local courts before any extradition could be considered. “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.
Clavano affirmed that Philippine law generally bars extradition while local cases remain unresolved.
“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,” he said.
The Philippines and the US signed an extradition treaty in 1994 which requires that requests pass through diplomatic channels and excludes extradition for political or military offenses, capital crimes, and acts already prosecuted locally.
Quiboloy, a staunch ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is the founder of the Davao-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ sect.