Philippines arrests megachurch founder wanted in U.S. for sex trafficking

Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Filipino megachurch founder and fugitive of U.S. authorities Apollo Quiboloy has been arrested, the Asian nation's secretary of interior said Sunday.

"Apollo Quiboloy has been caught," the secretary, Benhur Abalos, announced on Facebook, while posting a picture of the detained pastor.

Quiboloy's attorney, Ferdinand Topacio, said in a statement reported by local Rappler that his client "voluntarily surrendered" to the Philippines Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces.

Philippine National Police spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo told reporters in a press conference that Quiboloy, 74, was taken into police custody at about 5:30 p.m. local time Sunday in Davao City before being flown aboard a C-130 plane to Quezon City, where he is being held.

She said that his surrendered followed hours of negotiations during which authorities had threatened to storm the building he was hiding in if he didn't willfully turn himself in.

The Philippine National Police Agency confirmed that he and four of his aides were arrested following the issuance of the 24-hour ultimatum at the Davaos compound of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name where Quiboloy is not only the founder but referred to as The Appointed Son of God.

The arrest ends a multi-month manhunt for the man after a Pasig City court issued an arrest warrant for Quiboloy in connection to human trafficking in April.

U.S. Justice Department had first charged Quiboloy in November 2021 on allegations of trafficking women and girls as young as 12 for his sexual pleasure.

According to the indictment, he and two others are accused of coercing young women and girls within the church to work as personal assistants known "pastorals" to Quiboloy who would prepare him meals, clean his residence and give him massages.

The federal court document also claims the women and girls would go with him on international trips, including to the United States, and have scheduled sex with him as their "night duty."

Quiboloy had served as an advisor to former President Rodrigo Duterte.