DOJ: Quiboloy extradition petition almost ready
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida on Thursday said a petition for the extradition to the United States of alleged sex offender and religious sect founder Apollo Quiboloy will soon be filed before a local court as a review of the US request is almost done.
“We’re in the final stages already of the vetting. We’re just doing some legal scrubbing. We’re almost ready to file the petition,” Vida said on Thursday at a press briefing at the Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters.
He added that the DOJ is ensuring that its looming petition is compliant with the country’s 1994 extradition treaty with the United States and the new rules issued by the Supreme Court last year that seeks to streamline extradition proceedings when these reach courts.
A key reform under the new rules was that appeals can be made only up to the level of the Court of Appeals, which must issue a decision within 90 days. The ruling would then be deemed “final and immediately executory.”
Prolonged process
In the past, cases regarding extradition requests could be appealed up to the high court which prolonged the process.
In August, the DOJ began reviewing the US request to extradite Quiboloy, who is facing charges of sex trafficking of minors, visa fraud and bulk cash smuggling in a California court.
He is currently detained in the Pasig City Jail as he is also charged with qualified human trafficking in the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) and sexual abuse and maltreatment in the Quezon City RTC.
As part of its review, the DOJ is reviewing the voluminous documents transmitted by the US Department of State through the Department of Foreign Affairs to determine whether an extradition petition can be filed in a regional trial court.
But even with a looming extradition petition from the DOJ, Vida noted that the actual extradition, if granted by the court, may not happen soon because of various factors, including possible legal challenges from Quiboloy.
