Philippines announces arrest of megachurch leader Apollo Quiboloy

AAn evangelical preacher wanted by the US FBI with close ties to former President Rodrigo Duterte and his family was arrested as the dispute between the clan and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deepened.

Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the Church of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, was arrested after weeks of police operations in Davao City, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said in a Facebook post on Sunday, without giving further details. Authorities have been trying to arrest Quiboloy for months.

The 74-year-old pastor, who also runs a broadcasting company, Sonshine Media Network Inc., is on the FBI's wanted list for alleged sexual abuse, human trafficking and cash smuggling. Quiboloy had long denied the allegations, saying it was part of the difficulties of being the “called son of God” – a phrase he uses to describe himself. He also faces charges in local courts.

Quiboloy's arrest came after two weeks of standoff and occasional clashes between police and the pastor's supporters as authorities searched the vast church compound in the southern city of Davao. The latest development could fuel the deepening conflict between the country's most powerful families, whose alliance delivered landslide victories to Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2022 elections.

The pastor and Duterte's aide is expected to arrive in the capital late Sunday after his arrest, ABS-CBN News on X reported. In April, two local courts issued arrest warrants for the preacher and several others on alleged sexual abuse, child molestation and human trafficking charges. The previous month, the Senate also issued an arrest warrant for Quiboloy after he failed to appear at an investigation into alleged abuses at his church.

Vice President Duterte, the daughter of the former president, had accused the government of “serious abuse of police power” in arresting the pastor and mentioned the deployment of around 2,000 police officers. Marcos had defended the police and said the government would certainly need a lot of people to search a 30-hectare site.

Quiboloy's lawyer Ferdinand Topacio was quoted by ABS-CBN News on X as saying that the pastor voluntarily surrendered 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 huge,” said Brigadier General Nicolas Torre, police director of the Davao region, in an interview with radio station DZBB. “I am also grateful to Pastor Apollo Quiboloy for realizing that this is the right thing to do – to face the law.”

Police reportedly found secret tunnels and underground rooms while searching Quiboloy's compound. The self-proclaimed preacher supported the 2022 election campaign of Marcos and Duterte's daughter.