MANILA, Philippines – Count arrested doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy among the disparate crowd of aspirants seeking a senatorial post in the 2025 elections.
Commission on Elections spokesman John Rex Laudiangco told reporters on Tuesday, October 8, that Quiboloy — who has been on the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most-wanted list since 2022 — filed his certificate of candidacy through an authorized representative.
The self-styled “appointed son of god” is currently under the custody of the Philippine National Police.
It was not clear if he would be running as an independent candidate.
Quiboloy founded the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name and began preaching to just 15 members in 1985 in Davao City. His church, where he is a senior pastor, claims to now have 4 million followers across the Philippines and another 2 million abroad.
But KOJC is no ordinary church.
The crime and fraud that go behind the scenes of KOJC began to surface in recent years.
Rappler’s investigative reports published in December 2021 detail how he manipulated and sexually exploited minors and women part of his church and even involved his followers into a network of fraud. Read the stories below:
He now currently faces a number of abuse and trafficking cases in the Philippines and the US.
Quiboloy is facing bailable charges of sexual abuse of minors and child cruelty at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. This is on top of human trafficking charges at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court, which he has pleaded not guilty to on September 13.
In the United States, Quiboloy is charged with the following:
Philippine authorities arrested Quiboloy on September 9 in Davao City after nearly a five-month manhunt. (READ: Police played Apollo Quiboloy’s ‘game’ until told to ‘finish it’)
The doomsday preacher would first have to face charges in the Philippines before authorities can consider extraditing him to the US.
Meanwhile, Quiboloy also oversees the operation of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), a fake news network that has targeted activists, politicians, and one that has also red-tagged individuals and groups.
The network was stripped of its franchise in March after program hosts Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz and consistent red-tagger Lorraine Badoy aired unverified information against House Speaker Martin Romualdez, which then prompted an investigation at the lower chamber. – Rappler.com
