The Department of Justice has not received any information thus far on the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department on Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
“None yet, none yet. We’re waiting by the sidelines what their action would be,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told reporters Monday.
On Friday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Quiboloy and some 40 other individuals and entities in nine countries for alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses.
The press release specifically mentioned the televangelist’s involvement in an alleged “pattern of systemic and pervasive rape of girls as young as 11 years old, as well as other physical abuse.”
Quiboloy’s lawyers on Sunday cried foul over the sanctions, claiming his rights to due process and presumption of innocence were violated because sanctions were already imposed before the scheduled hearings in the cases he is facing next year.
US prosecutors indicted Quiboloy in November 2021 on sex trafficking, fraud, and cash smuggling charges.
He was placed on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list in February this year.
But Remulla said the Philippine Justice department had yet to receive any extradition request from the US.
The US Treasury Department sanctions are different from the criminal cases Quiboloy is facing, but both are based on the same allegations.
The Justice chief, however, promised to “abide by” the Philippine-US extradition treaty.
“In our case, we have a treaty with them, we have an extradition treaty, and we have to abide by the terms of conditions our agreements with our friends from abroad,” Remulla said.
But former University of the Philippines law dean Pacifico Agabin said extraditing Quiboloy to the United States for alleged corruption and sex trafficking was a political act that would need the approval of the President.
Agabin said the US Federal Bureau of Investigation could not go after Quiboloy for alleged sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling “as long as he remains in the Philippines.”
He noted the US government could submit a request for extradition to the Philippines if it has strong evidence that Quiboloy committed crimes in the US.
If the Department of Foreign Affairs gets an extradition request, the Foreign Secretary must consult with the President because extradition is a political act, Agabin said.
In the Philippines, complaints for rape, trafficking in persons through sexual abuse, trafficking in persons through forced labor, physical abuse, and child abuse were filed against Quiboloy but Davao prosecutors, in June 2020, junked the complaints.
A petition for review is pending before the Office of the Justice Secretary. But Remulla said he had yet to see the appeal.
According to the US Treasury Department’s press release, Quiboloy allegedly recruited “pastorals” or young women within the KOJC selected to work as his personal assistants in the US and the Philippines who are allegedly required to have sex with the pastor.
“Quiboloy exploited his role within the KOJC to rape his victims and subject them to other physical abuse, describing these acts as sacrifices required by the Bible and by God for the victims’ salvation. The pastorals, who were mostly minors when initially abused by Quiboloy, were told by him to ‘offer your body as a living sacrifice,’” it said.
“One female reported she lost count of the number of times she was forced to have sex with Quiboloy, as it was at least once a week even when she was a minor and in every country to which they traveled. Another woman reported she was forced to perform night duty at least 1,000 times,” it added.
Justice Department spokesperson Mico Clavano earlier said it was “simply too premature” for the agency to speak on the issue, saying that they have yet “to discuss the ins and outs of the sanctions on Mr. Quiboloy.”
Quiboloy’s lawyers earlier on Saturday expressed shock over the US Treasury Department’s declaration.
His legal team consisting of KOJC general counsel Michael Jay Green, personal legal counsel Manny Medrano, and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said there was lack of due process in the US sanctions on their client.
His lawyers previously denied the allegations against Quiboloy.
“Never mind the guilt or innocence at this point. The fact remains that the US government, the executive branch of the US government, has already pronounced sentence upon our client,” Topacio said in a press briefing.
“This is unheard of. It’s hard to believe that the sanctions against Quiboloy are coming from the US where the system of justice includes the presumption of innocence of the accused,” Green said.
“It’s as if Quiboloy is already guilty. They convicted him already. Something I never thought would happen in the US.”
“It is a sad day for the US,” he said. “I feel embarrassed as an American.”