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[global times correspondent in the philippines fan fan, global times special correspondent tong zhe] the philippine news agency reported on the 8th that the philippine police confirmed on the 8th that after mobilizing more than 2,000 military and police officers to surround and search the estate of the "kingdom of jesus christ" church in the southern philippine city of davao, the church leader apollo quiboloy, who was wanted by both the united states and the philippines, and his four assistants surrendered to the police that afternoon, and all the people involved in the case have been transferred and detained. according to the philippine abs-cbn news station, philippine president marcos said that day that quiboloy would not be extradited to the united states for the time being.

apollo quiboloy profile picture source: us media

apollo quiboloy was born in davao on april 25, 1950. his father and brother were both senior members of the local pentecostal church (ucpc) and had great influence in the local area. influenced by the family atmosphere, quiboloy began to study theology at an early age. he graduated from the united pentecostal bible college of the philippines in 1972, and then joined the ucpc to preach, earning the title of "missionary machine". he represented the ucpc in the "international youth army world conference" held in south korea in 1973, and was elected as the national youth chairman of the upcp the following year. starting in 1979, quiboloy's relationship with other pastors in the church deteriorated, and then on september 1, 1985, he led several followers to leave the ucpc and founded the "kingdom of jesus christ" (kojc) church, claiming to be "the appointed son of god". kojc claims to have about 4 million believers in the philippines and more than 2 million believers in other regions. quiboloy also founded the "josé maría" vocational college named after his parents and established his own radio station.

quiboloy also has close ties with philippine politicians. according to abs-cbn news, quiboloy and kojc members supported duterte's presidential campaign. quiboloy lent his private jet and helicopter to duterte's presidential campaign team and served as his "spiritual advisor" during his presidency, the philippine daily inquirer reported. quiboloy also supported marcos and duterte's daughter sara in the 2022 elections.

according to the washington post, in november 2021, a federal grand jury in california indicted him on charges of conspiracy, child sex trafficking, and sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, and issued an arrest warrant. prosecutors accused quiboloy and his accomplices of recruiting girls as young as 12 as quiboloy's assistants to carry out 16 years of sexual crimes between 2002 and 2018. the victims were forced to devote their lives and bodies completely to quiboloy, and were required to regularly work with him on the so-called "night shift," which quiboloy called a "privilege" and a "way to redemption."

in addition, the united states also accused three kojc managers of illegally bringing church members to the united states and forcing them to raise funds for a fake charity that funded the church's operations and the leaders' luxurious lives. these managers are also suspected of forging student visas so that members can continue to raise funds for the church. the american "business insider" website also revealed that some kojc members were subjected to varying degrees of sexual and physical abuse in the name of "avoiding eternal damnation."

according to reports, in the face of the accusations from the united states, quiboloy denied them all, saying that the accusations were fabricated by critics of the church and disgruntled former church members. an attorney for quiboloy denied the allegations and said that the 42 charges of the federal grand jury in california were based on false testimony from former church members. on december 10, 2022, the u.s. treasury and state department announced sanctions against quiboloy. according to a previous report by the philippines' gma tv station, during the covid-19 pandemic, quiboloy stated on his youtube channel that the emergence of the "omicron" variant was due to "his prosecution in the united states and negative public comments." he even claimed that if "he gets rid of the existing charges, the virus (spread) will stop."

according to the manila times of the philippines, on february 21, 2024, quiboloy claimed in a nearly 40-minute audio that president marcos and his wife were conspiring with the united states to assassinate him, prompting him to hide for safety. the philippine senate then issued an arrest warrant for quiboloy on march 19, 2024, and issued a high reward order for him in july. the philippine news agency reported that the joint military and police force led by nicholas torrel began to raid the estate where quiboloy and other suspects were hiding in davao on august 24, and began negotiations with him after surrounding it. in the end, quiboloy surrendered. the police clashed with church members during the operation, resulting in the death of one church member and the injury of several police officers.

after the incident, duterte expressed sympathy for kojc members, calling them "victims of political harassment, persecution, violence and abuse of power." sara duterte also called the raid "a gross abuse of power by the police" in a statement on august 25 and asked for forgiveness from kojc members.