The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) released an official statement on the serious charges against Apollo Quiboloy.
“As the agency tasked with safeguarding the well-being of our nation’s most vulnerable, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) cannot stay silent in the face of the serious charges against Mr. Apollo Quiboloy,” the organization wrote. “The allegations of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and abuse of minors strike at the very core of what we stand for: protecting those who cannot protect themselves.”
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DSWD also mentioned that public figures are usually the ones behind these crimes. “It is particularly painful when public figures, who should be champions of justice and defenders of the vulnerable, seem to downplay these horrific acts or align themselves with those accused of such egregious crimes,” DSWD wrote in its official statement. “We must never forget that behind every case are real children, real mothers, and real families who are suffering.”
The organization reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring justice for victims of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child abuse, urging leaders to unite in defending Filipino rights. “We call on all leaders to stand with us in protecting the rights of every Filipino child and to support the judicial processes that are in place to bring perpetrators to justice,” it said.
“We stand firmly with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his commitment to creating a better future for every Filipino child, where no one is left behind or left to suffer alone,” it concluded.
Apart from DSWD, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have each released a statement to the public regarding the fugitive Quiboloy.
The fugitive Quiboloy, a pastor and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church, is a wanted person by The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States. According to the FBI’s website, Quiboloy is wanted for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme.
He allegedly brought church members to the US with fraudulently obtained visas and forced members to solicit donations for a bogus charity. The money that members make is then used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders.
Moreover, he allegedly engages in sex trafficking by force, sex trafficking of children, and bulk cash smuggling among many others. On November 10, 2021, a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.
Recently, around 2,000 PNP personnel forced their way in at the KOJC compound in Davao to serve an arrest warrant on Quiboloy. During the large-scale operation to arrest the KOJC leader, a member died due to a heart attack.
Rodrigo and Sara Duterte have expressed their disapproval of the said incident. “Our country has never been in a more tragic state as it is today. Rights have been trampled upon and our laws, derided,” Rodrigo wrote on his Facebook account.
Read here: Rodrigo Duterte speaks out amid search for Quiboloy
Sara Duterte has also released a statement to the public regarding the PNP personnel forcing their way to the compound. “I vehemently condemn the gross abuse of police power in the takeover of the KOJC compound earlier today, which led to the harassment of religious worshipers, the abuse of minors, and the unnecessary loss of life,” Sara Duterte wrote.
Read here: Sara Duterte condemns police ‘abuse’ in serving arrest warrant vs Quiboloy, apologizes to members
