God, in most religious iconographies, is said to be benevolent – perfectly good and charitably kind. As such, god cannot be malevolent – displaying ill will and having an evil influence. Which of these two is Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “appointed son of god”?
Senator Risa Hontiveros has announced only this Monday that she is in possession of several personal testimonies, including one executed through an affidavit, alleging ongoing criminal activities of Apollo Quiboloy. If the Senyor Agila exposés in the senate on qualified trafficking, kidnapping and serious illegal detention raised intense public attention, thanks to Hontiveros, those of Quiboloy will be “truly astounding.” Like Quiboloy, the 23-year old Jay Rence Quilario (Senyor Aguila) of Socorro, Surigao del Norte also claims divinity. Who between these two gods is better and more powerful?
As of this writing, Senate Resolution 884 has been filed asking the upper chamber to investigate “alleged cases of large-scale human trafficking, rape, sexual abuse and violence, and child abuse of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) under its leader, Apollo Quiboloy.” Quiboloy’s former followers celebrate the move, saying the standards used on Senyor Agila should be used as well on Quiboloy.
How that will be actualized in the senate will be interesting to watch, considering the presence of two Duterte-identified senators, Ronald dela Rosa and Christopher Go, who are expected to defend Quiboloy.
Alas for both senators, the political winds have changed away from Dutertismo. It is curious to note that even the government-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA) has reported on the senate resolution. Under six years of intimate Quiboloy friend Rodrigo Duterte, such would have been downright impossible. Quoting from the resolution itself, PNA describes that Quiboloy “allegedly demands strict obedience from his full-time followers through brainwashing, psychological manipulation, and constant threats of eternal damnation.”
As in our past writing, the latest chronicles that describe Quiboloy, if proven true, are hardly of the benevolent stuff. “Front and center of these narratives are the systemic sexual abuse of women and children in the hands of this man that they call Pastor,” Hontiveros relates.
One of the witness narratives is that of an alias Jackson who was recruited with his family when he was 15 years old. Jackson was tasked to roam the streets with a “solicitation letter” asking for alms for his “studies.” If the day’s collection were minuscule, Jackson would receive corporal punishment. Depending on how small the amount, there would be 20, 50 or 100 lashes. Sometimes they would also be beaten with a paddle as in fraternity initiation rites.
A testimony from another minor relates how he was held captive after dating a girl. He was threatened that his head will be banged on a wall until it would bleed.
Hontiveros is in possession of an affidavit executed by a female minor detailing that Quiboloy himself inflicted sexual abuse on her. The senator is also in direct contact with another woman who was also sexually abused by Quiboloy.
Then there is the testimony of a former preacher that “revealed other crimes of Quiboloy” relating to his hidden wealth and businesses. Hontiveros claims some of these alleged crimes have taken place in other parts of the world.
In the House of Representatives hearings on the legislative franchise of Quiboloy’s Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), the network’s lawyer claimed SMNI “is not owned by Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy,” that “he is not part of the corporate officers,” that “he is just a block-timer.”
“We consider him an honorary chairman but he’s not part of the corporate officers, his name is not part of the corporate papers, he is not a stockholder of SMNI or Swara Sug Media Corporation,” the lawyer said. He also claimed that the 53.46% shares that is owned by the “executive pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name, Inc.” no longer refers to Quiboloy but to one Marlon Acobo as of December 2022.
But one congressman noted that the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its poster of Quiboloy as a Most Wanted Fugitive in February 2022. If by December 2022 the position of “executive pastor” was relinquished to Acobo, it could indicate that Quiboloy was hiding his ownership so as to prevent a later garnishing by the court.
The Quiboloy lawyer also testified that 46.22% of SMNI’s shares belong to Phoebus Capital Holdings Inc. It is registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission under the number CS20200000257. It is based in Davao city. Phoebus is considered an “esteemed partner” of the Quiboloy-owned Jose Maria College, together with another Quiboloy-owned company, ACQ Solomonic Builders Development, which bagged lucrative public works projects in the Davao region during the Duterte regime. See the list of those projects here.
But the hearings in the House also uncovered that Phoebus is actually owned as a sole proprietorship company by Apollo Quiboloy. The SMNI lawyer was left with his mouth agape at the discovery. Of course he knows who owns Phoebus Capital. That means Quiboloy is hiding his 99.68% absolute majority ownership of SMNI.
Take note of the name Phoebus too. That is the name of an Olympian deity in Greek and Roman mythology. It is the name of a genus of fungus. Captain Phoebus was the name of the vain, untrustworthy and womanizing contravida in Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The two-timing Phoebus wanted a night of passion with the character Esmeralda. Phoebus was also used as the name of an underground international cartel that controlled the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs between 1925-1939. Phoebus is also another name for Apollo.
Quiboloy is unashamedly self-referential. Even the logo of SMNI is the silhouette of his head that emits rays of light upwards. The invented word “sonshine” refers to him as the “son of god.”
But remind us again what this son of god’s alleged crimes in the US are that landed him on the FBI’s most prominent list. They are “Conspiracy to Engage in Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, and Sex Trafficking of Children; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion; Conspiracy; Bulk Cash Smuggling.”
After revoking the franchise of SMNI, there will be two logical consequences: award the franchise back to ABS-CBN (which used the same frequencies for its Channels 23 and 43), and extradite Quiboloy to the US.
That extradition should be a breeze. It will also tell the world that we are not a nation of lawbreakers under a regime of selective impunity.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
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