One person died when cult members fought police trying to arrest their leader at a compound where he is believed to house a harem of sex slaves.
Apollo Quiboloy, a 74-year-old preacher with a claimed seven million followers, is wanted by the FBI for alleged child trafficking and other crimes.
But his Kingdom of Jesus Christ supporters were out in force on Saturday when they pelted 2,000 police with bottles of ‘foul liquid’ as they stormed Quiboloy’s 30-hectare estate in Davao City, the Philippines.
The siege continued into this week, even as police gained access to neon-lit parts of the compound.
Inside an underground bunker, they found dingy corridors strewn with wooden planks, as well as rooms with rows of beds and clothes left out to dry.
It’s in these areas where Quiboloy is alleged to have housed women against their will.
The FBI claimed he traffics members around the world, with an inner circle of women who perform what they call ‘nighttime duties’, taking it in turns to sleep with him.
One whistleblower, known as Amanda, says she was held after being coerced into a sexual relationship with the proclaimed ‘son of god’ when she was young.
Quiboloy grew his following through radio, televangelism, and social media after founding the cult in 1985.
He’s formed strong links with the Duterte family, which rules local politics, even serving as spiritual adviser to former President Rodrigo Duterte until he stepped down in 2022.
Despite liberating two suspected victims of human trafficking during the raid, it’s so far failed to detain Quiboloy – even with the use of equipment for detecting heartbeats through walls.
‘We’re not leaving’, police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III said on Saturday, ‘No one’s pulling out until we have him.’
A 51-year-old supporter of his is understood to have died from a heart attack during Saturday’s clash.
The following day, police fired tear gas into the crowd of his supporters in a bid to clear them.
So far, at least 18 people have been arrested and six officers have been injured in the standoff that’s left many with bloody faces.
Police Colonel Jean Fajardo, spokesman of the Philippine National Police, said: ‘The search is still ongoing.
‘We are having a few difficulties because the signal we are monitoring using the ground-penetrating radar is moving.
‘We are following the signal and we’re still confident that we will find the source.
‘The path is winding. There are many secret passages and routes that lead to hallways.
‘These are the challenges we are facing, and one or two days are not enough to complete the search.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
