IT has always been an issue of public interest the warm and special relations between Rodrigo Duterte, a former president, and Apollo Quiboloy, the leader of the Davao City-based cult known as Kingdom of Jesus Christ (JoJC) with a claimed followers of seven million. Shortly before his imprisonment at the prison facility of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the former president said he would do everything to protect Quiboloy.
Even daughter Misfit Sara said she would go out of his way to protect Quiboloy who now faces charges of sex assault, human trafficking, and fraud here and abroad. It was all talks. They could not do anything when Quiboloy was arrested in Davao City and eventually jailed to face the court charges against him. Now, Quiboloy faces extradition requests from the U.S. government.
The special relations between Gongdi and the self-appointed “son” of God, Quiboloy, dates back more than two decades ago. Quiboloy and the KoJC members always supported Duterte in three previous elections – 1991, 1995, and 1998. But it was in the 2001 midterm elections, when he tested the KoJC support. In the 2001 elections, Duterte faced a formidable opponent in Benjamin de Guzman, who sought to renege an earlier agreement that he would not run for reelection so that Duterte could regain his mayoral post of Davao City.
In 1998, Duterte finished his third term as Davao City mayor after holding it over the last nine years. Under the Constitution, he was ineligible to run for a fourth term. He had a rest for three years to enable him to run anew. He entered into an agreement for his vice mayor Benjamin de Guzman for the latter to run for mayor in 1998, after which they would switch posts in 2001 with Duterte running for mayor and de Guzman sliding back to vice mayor.
But de Guzman seemed to like his post as mayor, its exercise of power and the perks, of course. De Guzman reneged on the earlier agreement and chose to run for reelection and faced Duterte in bitter elections in 2001. Duterte narrowly defeated de Guzman. It was said that even Duterte did not appreciate his situation when he fought tooth and nail to win over his former friend, who later became his political adversary.
It was claimed that it was the support of the KoJC, who carried the day for Duterte. Without KoJC support , Duterte would not win over de Guzman. The KoJC sect practises bloc voting in every election. Its members vote for the candidates endorsed by its leadership, particularly Apollo Quiboloy, its chief pastor. It is no different from the bloc vote of the Iglesia ni Cristo (InC). Indeed, there is no such vetting process. KoJC members, like InC members, – or like docile sheep, just follow whom Quiboloy tells them to vote.
The 2001 political experience has cemented the ties between Duterte and Quiboloy. Duterte needs the support of Quiboloy and the KoJC, which gives an advantage of several thousands of votes over his closest rivals. In return, Quiboloy and the KoJC need the support of Duterte to enable them to practice their religion. It’ s a typical mutual interrelationship with both gaining advantage.
Their relationship has become a religious-political relationship. Political scientists claimed that a religious organization becomes powerful when exercising bloc voting. Quiboloy is reputed to be the spiritual adviser of Duterte. The former president is also the caretaker of his property there.
An entry in the open source wikipedia said Apollo Quiboloy was born in 1950 in Davao City of migrant parents, who came from the town of Lubao in Pampanga. True, his parents came from Pampanga, but he was not born in Lubao as claimed. The truth was Apollo and his other siblings were all born in Lubao, Pampanga. Their parents were both public school teachers. The Quiboloys were reputed as academic achievers. Apollo and his siblings were all honor students in the Pampanga public school system, where they took their primary and secondary education.
The Quiboloys and the family of Diosdado Macapagal were and still are neighbors in Lubao. They both hail from the barangay of Sta. Catalina. The municipal hall of Lubao is situated in part of the huge lot, which belongs to the Quiboloy clan in Lubao. The Quiboloys’ property is a stone’s throw away from the traditional humble house, where Diosdao was born and raised.
In contrast to claims that Apollo Quiboloy was born in Davao City, the truth is that he was born and raised in their traditional abode in Pampanga. In fact, the Quiboloys were known as a clan of Pentecostals. For his part, Apollo founded KoJC, his own ministry, in Pampanga but brought it to Davao City when he transferred there in the 1980s. The wikipedia entry on Quiboloy said he founded the sect in 1985 in Davao City.
A source who belongs to the Quiboloy clan, one of the reasons Apollo went to Davao City was that he got embroiled in a bitter court case with a cousin, whose wife, a KoJC follower, was killed in an accident in pursuit of her job to solicit funds for KoJC. Apollo’s cousin was supposed to collect the insurance money due him as the legitimate spouse of the deceased Quiboloy supporter. But Apollo got the insurance money on the pretext that the wife died in line of her duty as a KoJC fund solicitor. The wife did her fund-raising activity in the U.S.
In Davao City, Quiboloy easily gained access to the powers that be. When Duterte became the vice mayor and later the mayor, Quiboloy immediately ingratiated himself with Duterte. Using the funds they had generated for several years, he acquired the 30-hectare property, which became the worship place for its followers.
After months of hiding in an underground bunker in the 30-hectare property, the PNP arresting team led by then Col. Nicolas Torre III arrested him. The team used equipment that detected people behind walls based on their heartbeat. Quiboloy is accused of trafficking his followers to the U.S. to solicit donations for bogus charities. He also allegedly required his female followers, some underage, to have sex with him as a religious duty.
Quiboloy was also a supporter of one of Duterte’s predecessors, then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Leaders of religious organisations and sects here become politically powerful when they direct their followers to vote as a bloc. Electoral contests could get cutthroat, prompting some candidates to believe that the endorsement of leaders like Quiboloy could make or break their campaign. “Politics in the Philippines is very much a moral exercise. Therefore, voters look to their religious leaders for guidance,” political scientist Cleve Arguelles said.
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Mr Quiboloy with sex trafficking of children, fraud and coercion and bulk cash smuggling. The FBI said he trafficked girls and women from the Philippines to the US, where they are forced to solicit money for a bogus charity. He also required his female personal assistants, who are called “pastorals,” to have sex with him, the FBI said. Washington has asked Manila to extradite Quiboloy. There is no official response yet from the Marcos government.
Quiboloy was in the news not because of his preaching or pastoral activities. As a special adviser to Gongdi, Quiboloy’s worldly activities seemed above attack or threat. His power to endorse and command the vote of his flock made it easy for him to create a political network as well. But circumstances have changed. Duterte is out of power. Quiboloy and Gongdi have remained loyal to each other.
Quiboloy is charged in a Pasig City court with a nonbailable case of human trafficking. The Davao Regional Trial Court has also charged him for violating the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act. He and some of his associates were indicted by a federal grand jury in California for sex trafficking women and minors; marriage and visa fraud; money laundering’ and bulk cash smuggling.
As part of the seeming efforts by the BBM camp to marginalize Quiboloy,, the two chambers of Congress have summoned him separately for questioning about his crimes and misdemeanors, including the alleged violations of franchise assigned to Quiboloy’s Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI). He has snubbed both, and after several scheduled hearings, both chambers issued subpoenas for his attendance.
Quiboloy’s conduct displayed a level of confidence that he can continue to evade and escape the legal forces that hold him to account. In the Philippines, such success involves political connections as well as the abundant wealth and means to corrupt the process of the criminal justice system every step of the way.
He has also pulled his weight to support his patron and friend, Gongdi, as the former president engaged in a word war with the sitting president. Quiboloy went as far as calling for the resignation of Marcos. In February, he accused Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez of conniving with the U.S. to get him arrested and killed. In April, he demanded a written assurance from the Marcos administration that the U.S. won’t meddle in the criminal cases he is facing here in the Philippines. Marcos said Quiboloy should use the inquiries of the House of Representatives and the Senate to “say his side of the story.”
His battle with Romualdez started in November 2023, when the House probed the legal franchise of Quiboloy’s SMNI after its commentators criticized Romualdez for allegedly spending over P1.8 billion in his international travels. Romualdez’ office showed documents to show the falsehood of his claim. His supporters accused the network of spreading “fake news.” The House went as far as issuing an arrest order for his repeated refusal to attend House inquiries.
The House approved a bill revoking the legislative franchise granted to SMNI, casting a vote to pass this into law. The House-approved bill remains pending in the Senate.
The Senate on March 19 ordered Quiboloy’s arrest for “unduly refusing to appear” and answer questions about his crimes and other issues. Risa Hontiveros persisted in calling for his presence. News accounts were quick to report the rush to support and defend Quiboloy. According to the media civil society organization – the CMFR, the Senate discussed whether Quiboloy should be charged with “contempt” because while refusing to face the Senate, the KOJC leader had continued to talk at length on SMNI. Senators Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos, Cynthia Villar, Christopher “Bong” Go, and lastly, Mark Villar all signed a written objection against the issuance of a contempt order against Quiboloy.
