Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church and a close ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his family, has been arrested in Davao City after weeks of police operations. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos announced the arrest on Sunday in a statement, without providing further details. Authorities had been seeking Quiboloy’s arrest for months.
The 74-year-old pastor, who also owns a broadcast company, the Sonshine Media Network Inc., has been under investigation for alleged sexual abuse, human trafficking, and bulk cash smuggling. Quiboloy has consistently denied the allegations, claiming they are part of the struggles of being the “appointed Son of God”—a title he uses to describe himself. He also faces legal cases in local courts.
Quiboloy’s arrest comes after a two-week standoff and intermittent clashes between the police and the pastor’s followers as authorities searched the massive church compound in Davao City. This development could further inflame the worsening conflict between the country’s most powerful families, whose alliance in the 2022 election led to landslide victories for Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte.
The pastor and Duterte’s adviser is expected to arrive in the capital late Sunday following his arrest, Philippine National Police spokesperson Jean Fajardo said on X. In April, two local courts issued arrest warrants against the preacher and several others for alleged sexual abuse, child abuse, and human trafficking. The month before, the Senate also issued a warrant for Quiboloy after he failed to appear for a probe about alleged abuses in his church.
Vice President Duterte, the daughter of the former leader, had criticized the government for “grave abuse of police power” in its operations to arrest the pastor, citing the deployment of approximately 2,000 personnel. Marcos defended the police, stating that the government would require a large number of people to search a 30-hectare compound.
Quiboloy’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio was cited by ABS-CBN News on X as saying that the pastor surrendered voluntarily to the Armed Forces and was not arrested by the police.
“There was no doubt that he was here. The search took a long time because the place is really massive,” Brigadier General Nicolas Torre, Davao region’s police director, said in an interview with DZBB radio. “I’m also thankful to Pastor Apollo Quiboloy for the realization that this is the right thing to do – which is to face the law.”
During the search of Quiboloy’s compound, police reportedly discovered secret tunnels and underground rooms. The self-proclaimed preacher endorsed the election bids of Marcos and Duterte’s daughter in 2022.