P10-M bounty from donations deemed illegal — Quiboloy's camp

MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer of Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) head Apollo Quiboloy said that the P10-million reward being offered by Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos violates Republic Act 6713 after the official said that the bounty for the immediate arrest came from donations.

“The P10-million reward may constitute a violation of RA 6713 because if you will read Section 7, paragraph D states that public officials or employees shall not solicit or accept directly or indirectly any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office,” KOJC legal counsel Israelito Torreon said at a press conference Tuesday night.

Abalos on Monday announced the P10-million reward for information that would lead to Quiboloy’s arrest and P1 million each for information on his five co-accused.

“This (RA 6713) is applicable to Secretary Abalos. You may be motivated in good faith in whatever you are doing but that is a violation of the law because any donation or any prize is governed by particular (law),” Torreon said.

Torreon added that aside from RA 6713, Memorandum Circular No. 2019-063 provides that monetary rewards can only be offered to most wanted persons.

“Can the alleged crime committed by Pastor Quiboloy be considered as heinous? It is even bailable. All heinous crimes are not bailable,” he said.

He said that monetary rewards are also offered in sensational cases.

“A sensational crime…. refers to cases where the crime committed is directed against government officials appointed by the president, judges, prosecutors, members of the Philippine Bar, media practitioners, militant party-list, labor leaders, foreign nationals. The crime (of) Pastor Quiboloy is not a sensational crime,” he said.

Quiboloy is the subject of arrest warrants issued by the Davao City and Pasig City regional trial courts, where he is facing charges of qualified trafficking and sexual abuse allegedly committed against a 17-year-old girl in 2011.

The case in Davao City has been allowed by the Supreme Court to be transferred to a Quezon City court.

An immigration lookout bulletin order has been issued against Quiboloy to prevent him from fleeing the country.

Quiboloy, a self-proclaimed “appointed son of God,” is currently considered a fugitive as authorities try to locate him due to the standing arrest warrants.

One of the endorsers of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the 2022 presidential race, Quiboloy is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s most wanted list for allegedly orchestrating a sex trafficking operation.

According to the FBI, Quiboloy is wanted for his alleged involvement in a labor trafficking scheme that brought members of his church to the US through fraudulently obtained visas. A federal warrant was issued for the religious leader’s arrest on Nov. 10, 2021.

Last February, Quiboloy revealed through an audio clip that he is in hiding because he is facing threats to his life. He also claimed that Marcos had forged a deal with American authorities to hand him over to the US government.

Marcos laughed off the claim, saying the cases filed against Quiboloy in the US were filed before he became president. — Bella Cariaso