Court process for Quiboloy US extradition gets going
The Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has issued an arrest warrant and a hold-departure order (HDO) against televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, the first step taken by a local court in the process of extraditing him to the United States, where he is charged with sexual abuse and trafficking, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday.
Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “appointed son of God” and founder of the religious sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), is detained at the Pasig City jail while being tried on charges of qualified human trafficking at the Pasig RTC. He is also on trial for child abuse before the Quezon City RTC.
DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said the justice department filed a petition for Quiboloy’s extradition before the Makati RTC on Nov. 9. The court issued the arrest warrant and HDO on Nov. 12 after it found probable cause that he committed the “extraditable offenses” charged against him, Martinez said.
California cases
The court also issued the same warrant and HDO against two of his coaccused—Teresita Dandan and Helen Panilag, both officers of KOJC who are at large.
The US government requested Quiboloy’s extradition to face charges of sex trafficking of minors, visa fraud and bulk cash smuggling, among other offenses, in a California court.
The DOJ received the request for extradition on Aug. 6 and began reviewing it in the same month.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Dandan as the “international administrator” of a fake charity operation. She was indicted for, among others, conspiracy to engage in child sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and money laundering.
Panilag was the purported “one-time top church administrator” in the US chapter of KOJC who oversaw the collection of financial records from other countries as well. She was charged with conspiracy.
‘Justice knows no borders’
Quiboloy, who served as former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “spiritual adviser,” has strongly denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in the Pasig and Quezon City courts.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros welcomed the extradition warrant of arrest against Quiboloy, saying he could no longer evade accountability for his alleged crimes. “Justice knows no borders,” she said in a statement.
Hontiveros led a Senate inquiry into the allegations against Quiboloy as head of the committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality.
“The world is listening,” she said. “He may have evaded accountability for far too long. That ends now.”
“Quiboloy may have powerful friends, but the women who stood up against him had voices that could never be silenced. And we never abandoned them,” she said.
The DOJ said it had no information on whether Quiboloy would be transferred to another detention facility after the arrest warrant for the extradition case was issued.
Martinez said, however, that the extradition proceedings before the Makati RTC “may proceed independently” while his other criminal cases are being tried.
“Any arrangements concerning his custody or possible transfer will be subject to the appropriate court orders,” Martinez told reporters.
Proceedings streamlined
Chief State Counsel Dennis Chan had expressed confidence that the extradition process, if granted by the court and appealed by the parties, would not take long.
Chan said the latest extradition rules issued by the Supreme Court in April last year streamlined and fast-tracked court proceedings for extradition. These include restricting appeals to the Court of Appeals, no longer to the Supreme Court.
DOJ officials earlier said that Article 11 of the 1994 Philippines-US Extradition Treaty allowed the Philippines to turn over Quiboloy to US custody and face trial in the United States even while his local cases remain pending.
Another option provided is for Philippine authorities to defer his extradition until after he has been fully prosecuted or he has finished his prison term if convicted.
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