A violent standoff between Philippine police and followers of a fugitive preacher wanted by both the FBI and local law enforcement on sexual abuse and human trafficking charges entered a fourth day on Tuesday as nearly 2,000 officers surrounded a sprawling church compound.
Pastor Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, a self-styled “appointed son of God” and founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, has been on the run for at least three years.
A 2021 US indictment accuses the 74-year-old preacher and his alleged accomplices of running a sex trafficking ring that coerced girls and young women to have sex with him under threats of “eternal damnation.”
Quiboloy, who has denied all the charges against him, is believed by Philippine police to be hiding inside a 30-hectare (75 acre) compound that includes a cathedral, a college, a bunker and a taxiway leading to Davao International Airport.
Police have been attempting to arrest the preacher and five of his alleged accomplices in a raid that began on Saturday in the city in southern Philippines. But they have met fierce and at times violent resistance from his followers, who allegedly threw stones at officers and blocked a highway with burning tires, Davao police said on Facebook.
A 51-year-old Quiboloy follower reportedly died of a heart attack on Saturday. Police said his death was not related to the operation.
Police fired tear gas late Sunday as they tried to disperse the crowd. At least six officers have been injured and at least 18 people arrested during the dayslong standoff, police said.
Photos released by police on Monday showed officers with bloodied faces and wearing bandages receiving treatment for their injuries.
Police Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, who is leading the raid, said the operation would not end until Quiboloy is captured.
“We’re not leaving,” Torre said on Saturday. “No one’s pulling out until we have him.”
Prominent preacher
Quiboloy founded the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church in 1985 and rose to prominence as televangelism gained popularity in the Philippines, a majority-Catholic country where millions also follow a plethora of Christian sects.
The church, which claims to have 7 million followers worldwide, runs businesses including a college, resort and media outlets in the Philippines, according to its official website.
Quiboloy is a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who regularly appeared on a church-linked media network when he was mayor of Davao, a testing ground for Duterte’s controversial war on drugs that rights groups say resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Duterte’s daughter, Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, accused police of abusing their power and of harassing church members during the raid on the compound.
The 2021 US indictment against Quiboloy and two alleged accomplices accuses them of sex trafficking, including of girls as young as 12. The suspects allegedly recruited young women and girls as personal assistants that were forced to have sex with the preacher.
The indictment by the US Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California also accuses Quiboloy and his alleged accomplices of running a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the US on fraudulently obtained visas and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity.
Former members of the church have accused Quiboloy of sexual abuse and exploitation during Philippine senate investigations into the church that began in December last year.
Quiboloy’s lawyer has denied the charges against the preacher and said the church plans to file counter charges against police for raiding his compound.
In February, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Quiboloy to surrender and face the criminal allegations against him, according to his office.