Fugitive pastor arrested for sex crimes

An influential Filipino pastor wanted in the Philippines and the United States for child sex trafficking has been arrested, ending a two-week standoff between police and his followers.

Police attempted to arrest Apollo Quiboloy, who claimed to be the “Appointed Son of God”, during a raid on his vast church compound.

Violent clashes broke out between thousands of his followers and riot police, leaving one church member dead of a heart attack during the raid.

Mr Quiboloy, whose Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) claims to have seven million followers, has denied all charges against him.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Mr. Quiboloy with child sex trafficking, fraud, coercion, and large-scale cash smuggling.

The FBI said he trafficked girls and women from the Philippines to the United States, where they were forced to donate money to a fake charity.

The FBI said he also demanded that female personal assistants, known as “pastors”, have sex with him.

But while all this was going on, Mr Quiboloy rose to national prominence under President Rodrigo Duterte, who had previously served as a spiritual adviser to the former leader.

However, his fortunes changed when Mr Duterte stepped down in June 2022.

Philippine authorities soon charged him with child abuse, sexual abuse and human trafficking and issued an arrest warrant for him.

For two weeks, thousands of police officers were involved in a standoff with Mr Quiboloy’s followers, as they raided his 30-hectare (75-acre) KOJC compound in Davao. They said Mr Quiboloy was hiding in an underground bunker based on the sound of a heartbeat detected by surveillance equipment.

The complex includes about 40 buildings, including a church, a school and even an aircraft hangar.

Mr Quiboloy’s lawyer said the two-week manhunt had turned the KOJC complex into a “police camp”, with one of their churches “destroyed”.

On Sunday, Mr. Quiboloy surrendered peacefully after receiving a 24-hour “ultimatum,” said Col. Jean Fajardo, a spokesman for the national police.

Mr Quiboloy’s lawyer, Israelito Torreon, said his client surrendered “because he did not want the lawless violence to continue”.

The circumstances of his arrest were not immediately clear, except that it occurred at the residence.

Regional police chief Brigadier General Nicolas Torre said the “joint effort of everyone involved” led to the arrest.

Mr Quiboloy and four others arrested with him were flown to national police headquarters in the capital Manila, where they are currently being held.

Before his arrest, Mr. Quiboloy said that “the devil” was responsible for his legal troubles.

He also said he did not want the FBI to “interfere” in his case.

The tension at the KOJC comes as a public feud between the Marcos and Duterte political families erupts.

The U.S. Justice Department had previously charged him with child sex trafficking, fraud and large-scale cash smuggling and sought his arrest months before Duterte handed power to current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., but it was only during Marcos’s tenure that the administration began prosecuting the pastor.

While Mr Quiboloy was in hiding, Mr Duterte said he knew where Mr Quiboloy was but would not report him to the police.

Mr Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, also criticised the police who pursued Mr Quiboloy for using “questionable” force.