MANILA, Philippines — Following a P10 million worth of reward for any information leading to the arrest of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos urged the embattled preacher to surrender.
“I am calling on Pastor [Quiboloy]: Let’s end this. If you have compassion for your followers, for your own sake, surrender now,” Abalos said.
Abalos has called on Pastor Apollo Quiboloy to surrender himself to authorities and face the sexual abuse and trafficking charges against him in court if he is innocent.
“If he genuinely cares for his followers, let’s bring this to a close. This is a legal mandate. There is an outstanding warrant for your arrest. Please surrender. It’s time to answer for your actions. Present your defense in court,” Abalos said.
The self-styled “Appointed Son of God,” along with his co-accused, went into hiding after facing charges under Republic Act 7610, commonly referred to as the Anti-Child Abuse Law. These charges specifically pertain to allegations of sexual abuse of minors and maltreatment.
On Wednesday, President Ferdinand Marcos now joined the calls to surface the fugitive Quiboloy following the P10M bounty offer.
“Why not? [Quiboloy] is a fugitive. He is hiding from the law. He can question their motives as much as they want. But he should come out,” Marcos said.
“Let me question his motives. Why are we always being questioned? We are just following the law; he should also follow the law,” he added.
During a press conference at Camp Crame alongside Philippine National Police Chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil, Abalos mentioned that the P10 million “reward” was contributed by concerned “friends” who were exasperated by Quiboloy’s persistent defiance of the law.
Additionally, Abalos announced a reward of P1 million each for the apprehension of his five co-accused.
Authorities cautioned that individuals harboring Quiboloy could be charged with violating Presidential Decree (PD) 1829 or obstructing justice.
Among the individuals that could be possibly charged was former President Rodrigo Duterte who said he knew about Quiboloy’s whereabouts but refused to disclose where.
“If the question is, ‘Where is [the] pastor?’ I know where, but it’s a secret,” Duterte said.
Operatives have made several attempts to serve arrest warrants on Quiboloy and his co-accused at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound but were unable to locate him.
The PNP said former chief executive Duterte might be subject to complaints of obstruction of justice for refusing to reveal the location of fugitive Pastor Quiboloy.
“That’s obstruction of justice. And we’re checking if we can file charges against these people,” said PNP Chief Gen. Marbil.
