Quiboloy ditches party, will run as an independent
After much ado, detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy has decided to run for senator in the 2025 elections without the backing of a political party.
The founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) sect facing trafficking and child abuse charges sent a letter, through his lawyer Mark Tolentino, revoking his certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) by the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP), amid a power struggle within the group.
The letter was addressed to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia and submitted on Monday.
“Given the ongoing intraparty dispute, I am revoking my acceptance as a nominee of [WPP]. I am therefore running as an independent candidate for senator in the 2025 national and local elections,” he wrote.
Quiboloy, the spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is one of 66 aspirants initially deemed by the Comelec to be eligible to run in next year’s polls, out of the 184 individuals who filed certificates of candidacy (COCs) for senator.
Petitions to disqualify
The list may be trimmed down further after the Comelec resolves petitions seeking to disqualify candidates or to have them declared as nuisance bets.
The 74-year-old Quiboloy is being held at the detention center of the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City on charges of violations of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act and qualified human trafficking. The cases are pending before the Pasig and Quezon City courts.
On Oct. 8, the last day of filing for national elective posts, Quiboloy’s lawyers filed his COC under the banner of WPP.
Tolentino said Quiboloy’s platforms would be “God-centered, Philippine-centered, and Filipino-centered,” with religious freedom as among his priority agenda.
But soon after his COC was filed, two “factions” within the party emerged, each claiming to be the “legitimate” WPP: one led by labor leader Sonny Matula, who is also seeking a Senate seat, and the other led by Tolentino, Quiboloy’s legal counsel.
Both camps have filed petitions for Quiboloy and Matula to be declared nuisance candidates.
Matula said neither he nor other high officers of WPP signed the Cona of Quiboloy. He alleged that Quiboloy’s unauthorized run under the banner of WPP was a form of material misrepresentation, an election offense that might result in his disqualification.
‘Political schemes’
The Comelec earlier said Quiboloy might be declared an independent candidate if it was proven that he was not really affiliated with the WPP.
However, he may also face a criminal complaint of perjury since the COC is executed under oath, it added.
In a statement, Matula said Quiboloy’s move was “a welcome development.”
“We cannot allow ourselves to be used or hijacked by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy or his advisers as a cover for whatever political schemes they may be pursuing,” he said.
But Matula said he regretted that the Quiboloy camp “has already caused harm and cast a shadow over our party’s reputation.”
“However, we understand that such bruises are part of the challenges in the electoral struggle,” he added.
Matula said it was not true that there were factions within the WPP. “Any suggestion of an intraparty dispute is unfounded and purely a product of their wild political imagination,” he said.
Bank accounts frozen
On Aug. 6, the Court of Appeals froze Quiboloy’s and KOJC’s bank accounts, real estate properties, and other assets. The freeze order was later extended until Feb. 6, 2025.
In September, Quiboloy turned himself in to the authorities after a 16-day police search of KOJC’s sprawling compound in Davao City. Arrested with him were his fellow accused Ingrid Canada, Cresente Canada, Jackielyn Roy and Sylvia Cemañes.
Quiboloy is also wanted in the United States, where he faces charges of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, sex trafficking of children, conspiracy and bulk cash smuggling. A warrant for his arrest was issued by a US court on Nov. 10, 2021. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
