Quiboloy lawyer: No need to rush US extradition
Televangelist Apollo Quiboloy may still be extradited to the United States while under trial on multiple criminal charges in the Philippines, but his lawyer said on Thursday there was no urgency to do so since he is already under custody.
Earlier this week, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez disclosed that Washington had formally asked Manila to extradite Quiboloy, but the pastor’s lawyer Israelito Torreon said they have yet to receive an official extradition request.
Quiboloy had been indicted by a federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Central District of California. The charges against him and some of his top leaders in the US include conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; sex trafficking of children; and bulk cash smuggling.
The founder of the religious sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) and self-proclaimed “appointed son of God,” the supposed spiritual adviser to ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, is facing separate criminal charges of qualified human trafficking before a Pasig City court and sexual abuse before a Quezon City court.
Provisional arrest
Torreon said they respected the prerogative of the US government to seek Quiboloy’s extradition under a treaty between Washington and Manila.
He noted that the United States could even request for the provisional arrest of Quiboloy under Article 9 of the accord signed in 1994.
“However, we feel that such request for provisional arrest may not be necessary as of the moment in the light of the fact that the ‘urgency’ requirement under that [article] is absent in this case as Pastor Quiboloy is in jail awaiting resolution of his motion for reconsideration from the denial of his petition for bail,” Torreon said in a statement.
He also cited Article 11 of the treaty, saying that it is the discretion of the requested state—the Philippines—on whether to extradite Quiboloy, considering that he already has pending cases in the country.
‘Sovereign option’
“We can only manifest our sincerest hope that the Philippine Government would exercise its sovereign option to allow the Philippine courts to fully exercise its jurisdiction over Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy’s case before it will decide to transfer Pastor ACQ to the US,” Torreon said.
Article 11 states that the Philippines may temporarily surrender the person being sought for the purpose of prosecution if he or she is facing trial or serving a sentence in the country.
“Such temporary surrender furthers the interests of justice in that it permits trial of the person sought while evidence and witnesses are more likely to be available, thereby increasing the likelihood of a successful prosecution,” according to a US Senate report on the treaty.
The report explains that an early extradition could also be beneficial to the accused as the person would be able to defend himself against the charges while favorable evidence are still fresh and more likely to be available. It would also allow a quicker resolution of the case and make it possible for any sentence to be served in the US concurrently with the sentence in the Philippines.
DFA: No request yet
Romualdez said in media interviews that the US extradition request was sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ) as early as June. But both the DOJ and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said they have not received the request.
The DFA quoted Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro as saying that it had not received the US request.
“As Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez stated, the documents were sent to the DOJ as early as June and not to DFA,” it said early Thursday morning.
But DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV told reporters that under the regular process, extradition requests should first go through the DFA before they are officially endorsed to the DOJ.
“In this case, DFA has not received any request. The DOJ could not have officially received the request as well,” Clavano said.
PH, US consultation
Article 18 of the treaty provides that the justice departments of the United States and the Philippines may consult with each other with regard to an individual extradition case or extradition procedures in general.
A US federal warrant was issued for Quiboloy’s arrest in 2021. On March 1, 2024, Central District of California Judge Terry Hatter Jr. ordered the warrant unsealed, disclosing details of the charges.
The cases stemmed from Quiboloy’s alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought KOJC members to the United States via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, which were actually used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders.
Quiboloy and two of his top church leaders allegedly orchestrated a sex trafficking operation that coerced girls and young women to have sex with the KOJC founder under threats of “eternal damnation,” according to the US Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.
The three allegedly recruited females around 12 to 25 years old to work as Quiboloy’s personal assistants who prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with him during what has been called “night duty.” —WITH A REPORT FROM CHARIE ABARCA
