Court issues arrest warrant vs Quiboloy, others over US extradition request

QUIBOLOY. Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) Pastor Apollo Quiboloy arrives at the Senate to attend the public inquiry into the reported cases of abuse in KOJC, on October 23, 2024.

Senate Social Media Unit

Quiboloy and two others have been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list since 2022

MANILA, Philippines – Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 145 has issued a warrant of arrest against doomsday preacher and Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy and two others in relation to the United States government’s request to extradite them.

“On 12 November 2026, pursuant to Section 4, Rule 2 of the Rules on Extradition Proceedings, the court issued an Extradition Warrant of Arrest against the [said] individuals, after finding probable cause that: (a) each extradite is the person named in the corresponding foreign arrest warrant and indictment, (b) that the offenses charged are extraditable offenses, and (c) that each extraditee committed the offense or offenses charged,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday, November 13.

Apart from Quiboloy, the extradition petition includes Teresita Tolibas Dandan and Helen Panilag.

“At the same time, said court likewise issued a hold departure order against each extraditee, to prevent any attempt by each of them to depart from the Philippines,” the DOJ added.

On November 10, the DOJ announced that the US request to extradite Quiboloy, Dandan, and Panilag was filed with the Makati City court the day before. The extradition petition was docketed as case number R-MKT-26-02823-SP and was raffled to Branch 145.

“Per the Rules on Extradition Proceedings, once the court is notified of the implementation of the arrest of the extraditee/s, the corresponding summons, together with a copy of the Petition and its annexes, shall be personally served on the extraditee/s, who shall then have a period of fifteen (15) days, from receipt of the summons, to file a verified Answer,” the DOJ explained.

After a review, the court will grant the petition if a prima facie case exists. Prima facie, as stated in Wa-acon vs. People, is a situation where evidence “is not rebutted or contradicted, making it good and sufficient on its face to establish a fact constituting a party’s claim or defense.”

Quiboloy, a close ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is facing cases for international human trafficking, sex trafficking, conspiracy, and bulk cash smuggling. He has been detained in the Pasig City Jail since November 2024.

In local courts, he is facing a trafficking case in Pasig City, and separate cases of sexual abuse of a minor and child abuse in a Quezon City.

Quiboloy was arrested on September 8, 2024, in a raid led by former Philippine National Police chief Nicolas Torre III, after months of manhunt and tension in his home turf Davao City.

Quiboloy, Dandan, and Panilag have been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted list since 2022. There are also pending US warrants against them, which the DOJ said remain valid.

If the court grants the extradition request, Quiboloy and associates will be flown to the US, where they will face their charges. – Rappler.com