Televangelist Apollo Quiboloy may have sexually abused 200 women, police say
Police in the Philippines say televangelist and Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy, who has pleaded not guilty to human trafficking and the sexual abuse of children, might have sexually abused some 200 women as he faced some of his accusers in that country’s senate on Wednesday.
Davao City Philippines National Police Chief Hansel Marantan made the revelation during a hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality on Wednesday, Rappler reported.
“[Quiboloy] is believed to have victimized around 200 women,” Marantan said. “Currently, the PNP identified 68 female personalities, of different ages, who were victims of Quiboloy’s sexual exploitation.”
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Teresita Valdehueza, a founding member Quiboloy's Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who said she was just 17 in the 1980s when she joined the church, recounted details of alleged sexual and physical abuse at the church, ABS-CBN News reported.
"At the age of 17, I became a member of the church led by this man, Apollo C. Quiboloy, in 1980. ... In 1988, I made the difficult decision to dedicate my life to his ministry. ... This choice meant leaving behind my family, my career, and the person I once was," Valdehueza recalled. "Over time, I gained the trust and became a respected worker within the ministry."
She said she was satisfied with her work at the church until 1993 when she alleges Quiboloy began sexually abusing her.
"He explained that God had revealed to him that I was to partake in God's life through him by surrendering my body, soul, and spirit," she said.
When she finally found the courage to protest the abuse, she was quickly promoted to a national role in the ministry, she added. But by the late 1990s, the ministry leaders began to turn on her.
Valdehueza said she was forced to do two sets of "dry fasting," which she believes were a form of "punishment."
"It was very much a form of punishment but it was disguised as spiritual discipline. ... [But] we would always consider it as our sanctification because we were always made to believe that we were sinners and we do accept that we are sinners, so we had to go through fasting," she explained.
Quiboloy, 74, who surrendered to authorities in early September after a contentious two-week standoff with local police, has continued to deny the allegations.
“There is no truth to what they are saying. If they have a criminal complaint against me, they are free to file it, and I will face it in the proper forum, in the court of our land, just as we are doing now,” the megachurch leader said.
During the hearing, Quiboloy denied allegations of sexual abuse by female workers known as "pastorals."
These women were allegedly tasked with performing menial tasks and pressured into what they call “body sacrifices.” It is also alleged that some of the women asked to perform “body sacrifices” were minors.
Quiboloy also dismissed allegations that he controlled a private armed group known as “angels of death” which former members claim carried out murders in the pastor’s name.
Quiboloy is a longtime friend of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. He claims to have 4 million tithing followers in the Philippines, 2 million more overseas, and reaches 600 million viewers worldwide through his TV station.
In a 2010 interview with ABC News, Quiboloy said every member of his kingdom shared his wealth and was welcome to stay at his mansion. He further noted that God revealed to him in 1983 that he should own a jet and declared that everyone should accept what they get from God in life, even if it is poverty.
"If it is not God's will for me to have these things I have, you can take it away," he said. "It is God's will that we follow. ... If he wanted me to live like a rat, if he wanted me to live in wealth or in poverty, it does not matter to me. Put me there, and I'll be happy as long as it's God's will."
After his arrest last month, The Philippines Department said Quiboloy, who is wanted in the U.S. on similar charges, will have to face the domestic legal system before any extradition request by the U.S. is granted.
The 2021 charges in the U.S. against Quiboloy are an expansion of allegations made in early 2020 against three Los Angeles-based administrators of the church. The allegations name nine defendants, including Quiboloy, and his two administrators, Teresita Tolibas Dandan, also known as "Tessie," and "Sis Ting," now 62, of Davao City.
The "international administrator" was one of the top overseers of KOJC and the Glendale-based Children's Joy Foundation in the U.S.
The other top administrator, Felina Salinas, also known as "Sis Eng Eng," 53, of Kapolei, Hawaii, allegedly collected and secured passports, and other documents from KOJC workers in Hawaii. She also allegedly directed funds solicited from church members to church officials in the Philippines.
Quiboloy, Dandan, and Salinas are charged in count one of a superseding indictment, which alleges the sex trafficking conspiracy. Each of them is charged in at least three of five substantive counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.
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