Senate Orders Arrest of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy
PASTOR APOLLO QUIBOLOY – The Senate has directed the arrest and detention of Apollo Quiboloy, the leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC), because he refused to engage in the chamber’s investigation into alleged offenses.
Pastor Apollo Quiboloy has been directed to be arrested and detained at the Senate due to his persistent refusal to cooperate with the chamber’s investigation into alleged offenses. The directive was issued by the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, and was endorsed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday, March 19.
According to a statement from Zubiri’s office, Quiboloy is to remain in custody under the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms until he complies with the Committee’s summons to appear and testify, or until he resolves the contempt charges against him.
Based on a report from Inquirer, the document mandates the Sergeant-At-Arms to promptly execute the order and report back within 24 hours of its enforcement. Zubiri clarified that his endorsement of the arrest order was a procedural necessity dictated by the Senate’s rules governing legislative inquiries.
He emphasized that the aim of the arrest order was not punitive but rather to ensure the efficacy of the investigation and compel Quiboloy’s cooperation.
“We are signing the order to protect our committee system, to preserve the Senate’s power of inquiry with process to enforce it,” he stressed.
“Should the witness appear during the next hearing and purge himself of contempt, there will be no need to order his arrest.”
The Senate has been probing Quiboloy and his Kingdom of Jesus Christ church over allegations of sexual abuse, human trafficking, forced labor, and other human rights violations. Before proceeding with Quiboloy’s arrest, Hontiveros’ committee had issued a show-cause order, allowing him to justify his repeated non-attendance at the public hearings.
Zubiri reiterated that the matter concerning Quiboloy falls under the committee’s jurisdiction and emphasized the committee’s responsibility to evaluate the adequacy of Quiboloy’s response to the show-cause order, noting that Hontiveros had found Quiboloy’s explanation, conveyed through his legal counsel, unsatisfactory.
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